Gennady Alyoshin, president of the Russian swimming federation, confirmed that the swimmer's urine sample, supplied for a drugs test, contained traces of ephedrine, a banned stimulant that carries a penalty of up to three months. A one-month suspension was imposed on Kisseleva from July making her free to compete in Sydney.

Alyoshin said the lenient penalty was fair: "She was given a supplement to control her weight by a doctor. Unfortunately, it didn’t give all the ingredients and ephedrine wasn’t on that list.

"Besides, to my knowledge this is the first doping case in synchronised swimming because a stimulant can be of no help in this sport of precise movement and coordination."

Kisseleva and Olga Brusnikina won what would have been their third European duet title in Helsinki in June, when the drug test sample was taken.

Craig Lord
The Times