FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Ryan Lochte doesn’t know when he’ll be in another race.

And that worries him.

What’s next for Lochte is a mystery, even to himself. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to suspend the 12-time Olympic swimming medalist because he broke a rule by getting an intravenous infusion of vitamins will keep him from competing in any major meet through July 2019.

So essentially the only opponent he’ll face other than training partners as he preps for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics is rust.

“I’m worried about that 100 percent,” Lochte said Monday, shortly after USADA announced his ban. “I know I’ll be able to swim in 2020, but in swimming you have to compete. You have to race. It doesn’t matter how well you train. That doesn’t matter. It’s how you compete when you get on those starting blocks. And the less chance I have of getting on those blocks, the worse it’s going to be for me.”

The suspension was handed down by anti-doping officials who made clear that Lochte wasn’t taking any banned substance. His mistake was getting an IV that exceeded the legal level of 100 milliliters – something he and his wife did together at a Gainesville, Florida, clinic on May 24 in an effort to bolster their immune systems after their infant son got sick.

Lochte posted a photo of the scene on his Instagram account, and USADA opened an investigation after seeing that image.

Lochte cooperated with the USADA probe but apparently was shown no leniency. His penalty: A 14-month sanction, going back to the date of the photo. It will cost him the chance to swim at this week’s U.S. national championships, the Pan Pacific Championships later this year and next year’s world championships.

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