Ukrainian Shooter Suspended After Anti-Doping Rule Violation

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has announced that the Ukrainian Shooter Oleksandr Vasiliev has been suspended for two years for an Anti-Doping Rule Violation.

Vasiliev returned an adverse analytical finding for Hydrochlorothiazide in a urine sample provided on 6 May 2011 during the 2011 IPC Shooting World Cup in Alicante, Spain.

This substance is included on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) 2011 Prohibited List under the category 'Diuretics and Other Masking Agents' and is consequently prohibited under the IPC Anti-Doping Code, which has adopted the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC).

In accordance with the IPC Anti-Doping Code, Oleksandr Vasiliev will serve a two year suspension for the offence beginning on 6 May 2011, the date the sample was taken. All results obtained from 6 May 2011 and onwards will be disqualified with all the resulting consequences including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes. A financial sanction of €1,500 was also imposed on the athlete.

According to the IPC Anti-Doping Code, it is each athlete's personal duty to ensure that no prohibited substances enter his or her body. Furthermore, each athlete is responsible for any prohibited substances found in their bodily specimen, regardless of how it entered their body.

As a signatory of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADC), the IPC remains committed to a doping free sporting environment at all levels. The IPC, together with the International Federations and the National Paralympic Committees, established the IPC Anti-Doping Code (January 2004, revision in 2009) to prevent doping in sport for Paralympic athletes, in the spirit of fair play. The IPC Anti-Doping Code is in conformity with the general principles of the WADC.