Former world number one tennis player Maria Sharapova failed the World Anti Doping Agency’s (WADA) drug test after she was tested positive for the drug Meldonium. WADA had banned Meldonium earlier in January.
A visibly heartbroken Sharapova admitted at the press conference on Monday that she had been using Mildronate but claimed that she was unaware that Mildronate was also called Meldonium.
What is Meldonium?
It is used to treat Ischaemia—a condition that restricts blood supply to the tissues.
The drug is manufactured in Latvia and distributed in Russia and the Baltic region. It is not authorized for use in the rest of Europe and is banned by the Food and Drug Administration in the United States.
Meldonium increases the oxygen levels in the blood stream and enhances blood flow. This results in increased physical performance.
According to WADA there is “evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance”.
As Sharapova stares at provisional suspension, it should be noted that a standard ban on athletes under WADA’s regulations is a minimum of four years. Maria admitted that she’d been using the drug for 10 years as “she was regularly falling ill and had a magnesium deficiency and family history of diabetes”.
Several other athletes too came under WADA’s scanner after they were tested Meldonium positive in 2016.
Athlete Abebe Aregawi, the women’s 1500-meter world champion, was provisionally suspended after Meldonium was found in a sample that she had provided. Others include 2015 Tokyo marathon champion Endeshaw Negesse, Olga Abramova , Artem Tyschcenko, Eduard Vorganov and Ekaterina Bobrova.
