The Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) has confirmed a two-year ban for Alexander Varakin, after he tested positive for Hydrochlorothiazide at the Temirtau swimming championships in Kazakhstan on 30 April 2015.’The Disciplinary Committee of the Kazakhstan National Anti-Doping Centre imposed a sanction of two years’ ineligibility on the athlete starting on June 26, 2015’, read a FINA statement.

Hydrochlorothiazide is a diuretic and masking agent prohibited under section S5 of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) 2015 Prohibited List. It is prohibited because it can be used to mask performance enhancing drugs.