Haggerty accused WADA of handling the issue of Meldonium “poorly”, and said that the new rules announced in their statement today were trying to make up for mistakes that they made a year ago.
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WADA said it’s preliminary tests show Meldonium could take weeks or months to leave the body.
Because “it is hard to know whether an athlete may have taken the substance before or after January 1”.
The five-time speed skating world champion Pavel Kulizhnikov and the 2014 Olympic short track gold medalist Semen Elistratov are two athletes who are set to benefit from WADA’s ruling, and the president of the Russian Speed Skating Union Aleksey Kravtsov told R-Sport that the pair should be allowed to compete again.
For her part, Russian Sports Minister’s anti-doping advisor, Natalya Zhelanova, said that approximately 40-43 Russian athletes have tested positive for meldonium, but some of their cases are not with RUSADA but with worldwide sports federations, which, too, will consider their cases on an individual basis.
But in her rush to set the tone of the coverage, Sharapova has admitted to an offence when, had she remained silent – and her name would not have been attached to a positive result until a second sample had been tested – she could now have found herself with wriggle room.
This comes in the wake of 172 athletes, many Russian, who have tested positive for the drug since it was banned for 2016. WADA’s announcement gives athletes and their lawyers a strong argument against sanctions, since the heart medication was only banned on January 1.
Athletes use meldonium (mildronate) to strengthen endurance to physical strains during training sessions as well as for easing emotional, nervous and psychological stresses at competitions. Sharapova failed a drug test at the Australian Open in January (test was taken on Jan 25), so she also falls in this category and could thus benefit with a milder or better still, no punishment at all.
Also from our earlier article: “WADA also confirmed that athletes with a concentration of between one and 15 mcg before March 1, or those below one mcg after March 1, could have their cases stayed”. “Until such time, the notice provides guidance as to how organizations should manage meldonium cases within their respective jurisdictions, which may be to “pursue” or “stay” until further excretion research has been made available”.
“WADA has demonstrated impartiality and an objective approach in fighting doping”. The drug increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles.
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WADA officials said the new studies would concentrate on how long it takes meldonium to get out of the system.
