Not a day without of Meldonium in sports! Another round of a doping scandal, it’s been a week. On 10 March it became known that another Russian athlete is suspended from competition for the use of this drug. The black list was enlarged with a young and promising team Edward Latypov. Heads of Russian sports highlight – the decision to ban Meldonium accepted, and it must perform. However, questions while more than answers. Chief among them: why the drug, popular in the post-Soviet space, acknowledged doping and its analogues is still allowed?
With the filing of the U.S. anti-doping Agency WADA (WADA, World anti-doping Agency, an independent nonprofit organization) and started the knockout game of Meldonium is reported edition of USA Today. The drug, used by Maria Sharapova, was banned after an appeal to the U.S. anti-doping Agency. The media says about a certain anonymous source has revealed to the sports world’s eyes to the drug, and then a question was raised about its ban.
As the newspaper writes: “an Anonymous source in March 2014 gave U.S. anti-doping Agency with information that athletes from Eastern Europe are using Meldonium to improve efficiency. Then, an analysis was conducted of urine 8300 athletes. He showed that Meldonium is detected in 182 samples, and they all belong to the Eastern European athletes. These results were published in April 2015, and thanks to them, WADA has made Meldonium in the list of prohibited substances. This led to today’s doping scandal, which involved Maria Sharapova.”
From Instagram Yelena Isinbayeva (Russian pole vaulter, two-time Olympic champion): “God, this is just ridiculous. My grandmother that’s really the last 6-7 years takes Mildronate (active ingredient Meldonium), and strangely, super-grandma did not, supernatural abilities never revealed, stamina has not increased. Waiting for the list of prohibited substances and askorbinki Hematogen”.
Doping or not – this topic was commented by the Minister of sport. Vitaly Mutko urged to stop profiteering – the drug is already on the banned list. Now it is important to understand who has violated the sports law and why: accidentally or intentionally. “We need to be proactive to strengthen measures of responsibility, to connect law enforcement system. But to bring the investigation to the end, not to do do extreme only athlete. If the decision is accused of. Continue to conduct the investigation, who urged him. Still, to get those people because they are always in the shade,” said the Minister.
“A few hours after my ad you gave me that support, which you can hear being at the top of their profession. Your words made me smile. I would like to play tennis and hope I get the chance to do that. Your messages – great support for me. Thank you very much” – wrote the athlete on his page in Facebook.
Experts believe that the anonymous source who told the Americans about Meldonium, can be athlete Yulia Stepanova, “the informant” – as it has been dubbed on the Internet. Her stories formed the basis of films by the German TV channel ARD on prohibited drugs in Russia and has already provoked several waves of doping scandals, the most notorious of them in athletics. Because of separate violations of a sword of Damocles hanging over the world’s greatest stars.
Interestingly, the study of Mildronate was sponsored by an American non-profit organization associated with the Olympic Committee and the U.S. anti-doping Agency of the country. Judging by the report for 2014, the sports University in Cologne have been allocated for these 36 000 dollars. Earlier, the same organization gave a grant to the detection of xenon gas in the breath of athletes. And this Soviet unique development – inhalation of xenon and argon have been widely known in Russia. After the success of the Sochi Olympics showed the Germans journalists.
Explains Svetlana Zhurova, Olympic champion in speed skating, Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation: “These cases once again prove that Russians, forget that you have anything at all to develop in the part of reducing agents, in terms of any drugs that help an athlete to improve their health. Don’t! Buy all we have – and all will be well, and so it won’t be.”
But perhaps the most important question: will you go athletes to the Olympics in Brazil? But the above athlete Yulia Stepanova to play in Rio. Its part is lobbying WADA: request is submitted to the International athletics Federation and the IOC. Don’t pay for it?
