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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Swimming Champion Cleared, But Coach Banned 2 Years

Compiled From Wire Services

World champion Samantha Riley was cleared Tuesday to swim at the Atlanta Olympics, while her coach was banned for two years.

FINA, swimming’s international governing body, said from its headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, that Riley had been given a “strong warning” after testing positive for the drug dextropropoxyphene at the world short course championships in Brazil in December.

The banned substance was in a prescription headache tablet coach Scott Volkers mistakenly gave to the world 100-meter and 200-meter breaststroke champion the day before she raced in Rio de Janeiro.

FINA said it had decided not to ban the Australian - who set two world records and won three gold medals at the short course championships - because “the proscribed agent had no potential to enhance her performances or give her an unfair advantage.”

FINA’s statement said: “We decided to sanction her with a strong warning, as the consequences of any other decision would not be in proportion to the fault committed by the swimmer.”

It noted that Volkers had given written statements in which he admitted giving Riley the “DiGesic” pill which resulted in the positive test.

“The FINA executive decided … to suspend him from all swimming activities for a period of two years starting Dec. 1, 1995,” the statement said.

Earlier this month, 15-year-old American swimmer Jessica Foschi had an initial probation sanction for a positive steroids test last August turned into a two-year ban by the U.S. Swimming Board of Directors.

“In light of FINA’s decision to give Riley a ‘strong warning’ instead of a two-year suspension, I will ask FINA to review the facts of the Jessica Foschi matter,” U.S. Swimming president Carol Zaleski said.