2013 World Junior Champion Alexander Palatov Given 2 Year Doping Suspension

The Russian Anti-Doping Association, RUSADA, has suspended swimmer Alexander Palatov for 2 years for a violation of anti-doping rules.

RUSADA has specified that his suspension was for a violation of sections 4.1 and 4.2 of the All-Russia Anti Doping Code. FINA lists the ban as a positive test for the substance 5-methyl-2-hexanamine, which is a stimulant that was originally introduced in the 1940s as a nasal decongestant, but is now sold as an energy supplement.

At least 5 deaths have been associated with the substance.

The ban has been back dated to May 11, 2021.

The last meet for the 26-year old Palatov was the Russian Championships in early April. His best finish there was 3rd place in the 100 breaststroke final in a new best time of 59.59, a three-tenths of a second drop.

That put him just .12 seconds behind Anton Chupkov; had he beat Chupkov, he would have earned a spot, in theory, on the Russian Olympic Team.

He also placed 5th in the 200 breast in 2:10.59, which was well shy of his best time of 2:08.70 from April 2019.

The date of his positive test was from those Russian Olympic Trials.

A two year ban, by World Anti-Doping Code rules, implies that the RUSADA disciplinary committee believed an explanation of unintentional violation of the rules, but that no source of accidental violation was verified.

As a junior, Palatov was a regular representative of Russia, including an appearance at the 2013 World Junior Championships, where he won gold in the 200 breaststroke in 2:10.75. That was a Championship Record at the time.

After missing the 2016 Olympic team, his career became very quiet, swimming only a few meets, mostly Russian Championships, in 2017 and 2018. In 2019, he returned to a more regular competitive schedule, culminating in the 2021 Russian Olympic Trials performance.

He represented Russia at the 2019 World Aquatics Championships, placing 26th in the 200 breaststroke.

RUSADA is currently serving a two year ban from WADA, reduced from an initial four year ban by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The country was accused of manipulating doping control results and subsequently of not providing full access to WADA investigators.

While the current ban has been significantly watered-down from what WADA originally imposed, the result of an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, it still does carry some consequences. Russians are not allowed to sit on the boards of any major international sporting organizations. That includes FISU, the organization that runs the World University Games, whose Russian president stepped aside earlier this year for the duration of the suspension.

The country was not allowed to fly its flag, and its athletes were not allowed to represent “Russia,” at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, and also won’t be able to at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Games. The country was also barred from bidding on upcoming major international events during the duration, though they continue to host major international events.

RUSADA recently appointed Veronika Loginova as its new director, with WADA approval.