Arjun Muralidharan, an Indian swimming legend, has been banned for two years beginning on October 25th, 2013 by the India Anti-Doping Disciplinary Panel. The ban comes after testing positive for Methylhexaneamine at the All India Police Aquatics Championships on March 25th.
Muralidharan at one point held the Indian National Records in the 50, 100, and 200 meter butterflies. He and brother Amar, also a swimming star, spent a significant amount of time in their careers training in Ontario. During that time, he won medals at several high-profile Canadian events, including the 200 fly at the 2008 Canada Cup.
His biggest international achievement came at the 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games, where he took a bronze medal in the 200 fly. He’s also won several titles at the South Asian Games.
Methylhexaneamine, which is a vasoconstrictor that is also sold as a dietary supplement, has become an almost commonplace word in the swimming doping lexicon. Following Muralidharan, there’s been almost half-a-dozen cases of this substance reported by FINA in 2013.
