Russian Open Water World Champion Vladimir Dyatchin Retires After Being Hit With Two-Year Doping Ban

Photo Courtesy: Openwaterpedia

MOSCOW – Russian open water swimming star Vladimir Dyatchin is leaving the sport as he learns that he has drawn a two-year suspension for a positive drug test last July.

The Russian Swimming Federation did not specify which drug caused the positive drug test last June, according to a report from The Associated Press, but the AP article states that Dyatchin is claiming accidental ingestion. The ban began on July 4, 2014, which means Dyatchin would not be able to qualify for the 10-kilometer swim at the Rio Olympics. The ban will definitely keep him out of this year’s world championships, which will serve as the first qualifying race for the Olympics. The second qualifying race is scheduled for May 2016, two months before the end of his ban.

Because the 32-year-old will miss the next two major international competitions, he has announced his retirement from competitive swimming. “”I will not compete again, of course,” Dyatchin said in a Reuters article. “I will concentrate on organizing events.”

Dyatchin had won two world titles in the 10K swim, first in 2003 and again in 2007. That 2007 world title enabled him to earn the Swimming World Male Open Water Swimmer of the Year honor that year. The Russian suffered a disappointing disqualification in the inaugural 10K swim at the 2008 Olympics, drawing two yellow cards for racing infractions. He returned the Olympic 10K in 2012, finishing a full 42 seconds off the medal podium in seventh place.

Though Dyatchin had claimed accidental ingestion, he does not appear to be appealing the decision. That gives Russia yet another high-profile positive drug test from 2014 and three in less than a year. Yulia Efimova is coming to the end of her 16-month ban, while Sergey Makov was suspended for two years last September.

It’s also another piece of the major scandal involving Russian sports in the past year. A recent documentary by a German TV station revealed that many Russian athletes were a part of a systematic doping process involving Russian sport executives, anti-doping labs and officials.

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