Russian tennis player MARIA SHARAPOVA said that "she failed a drug test at the Australian Open." The five-time major champion "took full responsibility for her mistake when she made the announcement at a news conference Monday." The former world No. 1 "could face a lengthy ban" from the Int'l Tennis Federation. She said, "I know that with this, I face consequences. I don't want to end my career this way, and I really hope I will be given another chance to play this game." The 28-year-old Sharapova said "she tested positive for meldonium, which she said she has been taking for 10 years for numerous health issues." Meldonium, thought to be widely used by Russian athletes, "became a banned substance" this year under the World Anti-Doping Agency code. Sharapova claimed "she didn't notice its addition to the banned list" (AP, 3/7).
MORE NAMES: Documentation discovered by the Spanish Civil Guard shows that former Bankia President RODRIGO RATO backed during his tenure with the bank -- from Jan. '10 to May '12 -- a €347M credit to facilitate La Liga side Valencia's Nuevo Mestalla stadium project. The evidence discovered "also shows that Rato had a particular interest in the operation." Rato was linked with Aedifica, "which was going to be a major beneficiary of the project," according to the evidence (SPORT, 3/7). ... Olympic 1,500m Silver Medalist GAMZE BULUT has been "provisionally suspended pending an IAAF investigation into a possible doping violation." Turkey's NTV TV reported that "abnormalities were found in Bulut's blood samples" from '11, '12 and '13 (BBC, 3/7). ... Former Denmark striker JON DAHL TOMASSON has "been appointed as assistant coach of the national team." Tomasson, currently assistant at Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem, will work with Denmark coach AGE HAREIDE from June 1 (AP, 3/7). ... Australian Olympian STUART TINNEY paid tribute to the "promising" and "very dedicated" rising equestrian athlete OLIVIA INGLIS, who died in a showjumping accident on Sunday. Tinney, who won Gold at the Sydney Olympics in '00 and represented the nation again in Athens, was competing in the same class as the 17-year-old when the "freak accident" happened at the Scone Horse Trials in the Hunter Valley. Tinney was waiting in the stalls when Olivia’s horse "slipped and fell after catching its knee on a fence less than halfway into the cross-country course." Olivia was caught beneath the horse and could not be revived (THE AUSTRALIAN, 3/8).
