Swimmer banned from Games

Ryan Napoleon will miss the Commonwealth Games even though a failed doping test was not his fault.

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AUSTRALIAN swimmer Ryan Napoleon must serve a doping ban and miss the Commonwealth Games even though FINA accepts his failed test was not his fault.

FINA's doping panel says Napoleon tested positive for the banned drug formoterol last year because a pharmacist wrongly labelled an asthma inhaler.

FINA says Napoleon "had no intention" of enhancing his performance.

"It is clear that the swimmer had no intention of enhancing his sports performances," the governing body said Wednesday in a statement.

However, the panel suspended him for three months through Nov. 20 after it "took into consideration the degree of negligence."

"The doping panel underlines the responsibility of the athlete to check his medicine," FINA said.

Australia selected Napoleon to swim the 400m and 1500m freestyle events at the games, scheduled for October 3-14 in New Delhi.

He can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

In another ruling, Spanish Olympic swimmer Sergio Garcia was banned for one year after failing to report his whereabouts for drug testing, and will be ineligible for the 2012 London Games.

FINA says it imposed the ban because Garcia broke the rules three times within 18 months.

Garcia swam the 200m breaststroke heats at the Beijing Olympics.

Under IOC rules, he cannot compete in London because the doping ban is more than six months.

Garcia is the second Spaniard this month to face FINA for whereabouts violations.

FINA declined to ban Rafael Munoz after dismissing his first reporting failure due to his "vulnerable" emotional state. Days later, Munoz won the 50 butterfly European title.