In a dramatic change that could lead to numerous doping cases being thrown out, athletes who tested positive for meldonium might be able to avoid sanctions because of a lack of scientific evidence on how long the recently banned drug stays in the system.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) on Wednesday said provisional suspensions can be lifted if it is determined that an athlete used meldonium before it was placed on the list of banned substances on Jan. 1.
“It is not an amnesty as such,” WADA president Craig Reedie said.
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WADA said 172 positive tests for meldonium have been recorded so far in various sports and nations — many in Russia — since the drug was prohibited. The highest-profile case involves Maria Sharapova, who last month announced that she tested positive during the Australian Open in January.
Some athletes who have tested positive have claimed meldonium remained in their systems for months even though they stopped using it last year. Sharapova did not specify when she had last used meldonium.
The Latvian-made drug, which is typically prescribed for heart conditions, was widely used as a supplement by athletes in Eastern European nations. The drug increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles.
In a notice to national anti-doping agencies, WADA said that “there is a lack of clear scientific information” on how long it takes for meldonium to clear the system.
While several studies are currently being carried out by WADA-accredited laboratories, preliminary results show that long-term excretion of meldonium can take weeks or months, it said.
As a result, it is possible that athletes who took meldonium before Jan. 1 “could not reasonably have known or suspected” that the drug would still be present in their bodies after that date, WADA said.
“In these circumstances, WADA considers that there may be grounds for no fault or negligence on the part of the athlete,” the statement said.
Reedie said the notice was sent out to all national anti-doping bodies on Tuesday. It was released first publicly by Russia’s anti-doping agency on Wednesday before being posted on WADA’s Web site.
“It is designed to explain the science that we know,” Reedie said. “The issue that it deals with is the time this drug takes to come out of the system. It is an attempt to clarify the many questions that we have been asked.”
In a separate statement, WADA said that meldonium remains a banned substance and athletes face the rule of strict liability whereby they are responsible for any prohibited drug found in their body.
“Meldonium is a particular substance, which has created an unprecedented situation and therefore warranted additional guidance for the anti-doping community,” Reedie said.
The Russian sports ministry and national Olympic committee welcomed the WADA statement, and the nations’s officials suggested there could be a mass amnesty of Russian athletes.
Russian Tennis Federation president Shamil Tarpishchev told the R-Sport agency that he hopes Sharapova would be able to play at the Rio Olympics in August.
Sharapova, a winner of five Grand Slam titles, said she had been taking meldonium for medical reasons over a 10-year period and had not seen a WADA notice last year that the drug would be banned starting this year.
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