New Delhi, October 12: Three-time Olympic medalist swimmer Conor Dwyer of USA has announced his retirement after receiving a 20-month ban for having testosterone pellets inserted in his body. According to a news release by the US Anti-Doping Agency, Dwyer tested positive for an anabolic agent as the result of out-of-competition urine samples collected last year on November 15, 27 and December 20. His ban was made effective on December 21, meaning he wouldn't have been eligible for next year's Olympics.

On Friday, the 30-year-old tweeted a press release, saying he had been following a doctor-prescribed medical treatment that he didn't realise contained a banned substance-testosterone. "I would never knowingly violate anti-doping rules," Dwyer said. He added that he was retiring from swimming. "Today I'm announcing my retirement from professional swimming. It has been an incredible ride and I have accomplished more than my wildest dreams. It was an honor to represent my country alongside my teammates."

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Conor Dwyer Message!!

 

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Today i’m announcing my retirement from professional swimming. It has been an incredible ride and I have accomplished more than my wildest dreams. It was an honor to represent my country alongside my teammates. Thank you to my coaches for teaching me that you can achieve anything if you out work everyone. To my mom who taught me how to swim, to my parents who took me to swim practice when it was 5am and subzero in Chicago and sacrificed so much for me because they believed in me and my dreams. Thank you to all my siblings and cousins for never missing a single meet, for being my rock throughout this unforgettable ride. To all the friends and teammates that have been there, old and new, I cherish every moment and memories we have made throughout the years. I have always felt that swimming chose me- it has and will always have a very special place in my heart. This is an unfortunate end to an incredible chapter of my life. I believe that things happen for a reason, and I can’t wait to share with you all the next chapter of my life.

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In his statement, Dwyer said he received assurances from his doctor that the USOPC had approved of the treatment. "Absent of these assurances, I never would have agreed to this medically necessary treatment," Dwyer wrote. Dwyer won gold in the 4x200-meter freestyle relay at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, and bronze in the 200-meter freestyle in 2016.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 12, 2019 03:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).