Swimmer Ryan Lochte receives 14-month ban from USASDA

July 23 (UPI) -- Team USA star swimmer Ryan Lochte has received a 14-month ban from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

USADA announced the suspension on Monday. Lochte received the punishment for using a "prohibited method," according to a statement from USADA.

The suspension came on the heels of Lochte posting a photo of himself on Instagram on May 24. The photo showed the swimmer receiving an intravenous injection. Those injections or infusions in a volume greater than 100 ML within a 12-hour period are prohibited at all times, except for those legitimately received int eh course of hospital treatment, surgical procedures or clinical diagnostic investigations.

"A subsequent investigation by USADA, with which Lochte fully cooperated, revealed that Lochte received an intravenous infusion of permitted substances at an infusion clinic in a volume greater than 100 ML in a 12-hour period without a Therapeutic Use Exemption [TUE]," USADA said.

His period of ineligibility began on May 24. He can resume competition in July of 2019. The 12-time Olympic medalist will not compete in the national championships this week in California. Lochte was previously suspended for 10 months following a drunken sequence at a gas station during the 2016 Summer Olympics.

"It's devastating to my family about this because I definitely made myself a better person after Rio, and I was back in training," Lochte said at a news conference Monday in South Florida. "I was feeling good. I was swimming fast. My son being born. Everything was happening. Everything was perfect, and then this happened. And it's devastating."

"As soon as you get to a certain point or level, in any kind of sport career, you're always going to have an eye on you. I think I've learned it the hard way. Definitely. Especially since Rio. And now this.""

Lochte said he plans to train every day and wants to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.