Water polo player banned for hair drug

Germany international water polo player Tobias Kreuzmann has tested positive for a banned substance he said he used to stimulate hair growth.

The Duisburg water polo club has said Kreuzmann had been suspended by the German swimming federation (DSV). He tested positive March 18.

Kreuzmann reportedly took a medicine that contained finasteride, a substance that can stimulate hair growth. The player got it on prescription from his doctor and had been using it since the beginning of last year, the club said.

The substance has been on the prohibited list of the World Anti-Doping Agency since the beginning of this year and Kreuzmann "failed to check out the latest list," the club said.

Kreuzmann was on Germany's water polo team that took fifth place at last year's Olympics in Athens.

Finasteride, which also goes by the brand name Proscar, can work as a masking agent to conceal performance-enhancing drugs as well as its legitimate use for prostate problems and hair loss.