Maria Sharapova was warned by tennis authorities "no fewer than five times in the month before she failed a doping test" that the drug she was taking "had been added to the list of banned substances," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. The 28-year-old is facing a "lengthy suspension" after testing positive for meldonium at the Australian Open in January. Sharapova claimed that she was unaware that the drug had been included on WADA's banned list on Jan. 1. However, it can be disclosed that during December "there were five separate communications to tennis players, including Sharapova." It has also emerged that Sharapova said that she used the drug for 10 years, with the manufacturer’s recommended course of treatment "being four to six weeks." The Russian said that she used the substance for health issues, including early diabetes, "although it is not usually prescribed for diabetes treatment." A key question "remains unresolved over whether Sharapova reported use of meldonium on the medication form when providing her sample." Her argument that she was unaware that meldonium had been added to the banned list "may be diluted, however, when details of the communications from the tennis authorities are revealed." In December, there were three correspondences from the Int'l Tennis Federation and two from the Women’s Tennis Association, all containing warnings that meldonium -- which is also known as mildronate -- was to be banned (LONDON TIMES, 3/9).
'RECKLESS' DECISION: In London, Gibson & Cambers reported former WADA President Dick Pound said that Sharapova and her team were "reckless beyond description" in failing a drug test at the Australian Open. Pound, who last year oversaw the WADA-commissioned independent review that led to Russia being banned from athletics for systemic doping, said the five-time Grand Slam winner had made a "big mistake" in continuing to take meldonium after it was banned in January. Pound: "You are taking something on a list. I am sorry, that is a big mistake -- of course she should have known. She is taking something that is not generally permitted in her country of residence [the U.S.] for medical purposes, so she says, so there must be a doctor following this. ... All the tennis players were given notification of it and she has a medical team somewhere. That is reckless beyond description" (GUARDIAN, 3/8). The BBC reported Pound "cannot understand how Sharapova found herself in this situation, given the high stakes involved, both professionally and financially." He said, "Running a $30 million business depends on you staying eligible to play tennis." Sharapova has been the highest-earning female athlete in the world in each of the past 11 years, according to the Forbes list. Sharapova's lawyer, John Haggerty, said she had "not been taking the drug every day for 10 years." Haggerty: "That's simply not the case." He added that she took meldonium "in accordance with the recommendations of her doctor" (BBC, 3/8). In Melbourne, Leo Schlink reported several of Sharapova’s former sponsors -- Nike, Porsche and Tag Heuer -- have "already distanced themselves from the grand slam champion." But she retains the support of "many of her rivals, including nemesis Serena Williams." Pound "savaged Sharapova amid uncertainty over whether she had registered use" of meldonium on paperwork accompanying drug testing. Pound: "Most of the drugs of choice for dopers were built for therapeutic reasons -- like EPO and others. That was supposed to regenerate blood if you had cancer treatment or surgical intervention if you needed to increase blood supply. Someone has said, 'Hmm, more oxygen in the blood? Hmm, very interesting. Let’s see if we can use it for that purpose'" (HERALD SUN, 3/8).
PERFORMANCE ENHANCER?: In London, Munnery & Dickinson reported Haggery insisted that Sharapova "was not taking enough of the banned drug meldonium for it to have enhanced her performance." He said that the levels she was taking "would not have given her an unfair advantage over her competitors." Haggerty: "The dosage Maria was taking was substantially less than any dosage that has been linked with the performance-enhancing attributes of mildronate. To say it differently, any athlete who has been alleged to have been using mildronate for the purposes of enhancing performance was doing so at a much higher milligram dosage per day than was ever recommended for Maria and her treatment of her medical conditions." Haggerty was asked why, "if she needed it for medical reasons, Sharapova had not sought a Theraputic Use Exemption (TUE)" from WADA or whether she had declared taking meldonium. He replied that he was unable to answer either question because of "this confidential process" (LONDON TIMES, 3/9). BLOOMBERG's Tozzi & Eglitis reported the Latvian chemist and inventor of the drug that put Sharapova on the "wrong side of doping authorities" said that it does not "actually help athletes play better." At the same time, physicians say there is "no reason for healthy athletes to take the drug." Whether the drug "actually improves players’ speed, strength, or stamina is an open question." Its inventor says it does not, and that it is "protective rather than performance enhancing." Ivars Kalvins, now chair of the scientific board of the Latvian Institute of Organic Synthesis, created the compound in the '70s. He said, "It’s total nonsense to consider that meldonium would be doping." American physicians note that "the medical evidence behind meldonium is thin." Aaron Baggish, director of the cardiovascular performance program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center, said, "People believe that it makes cells more efficient in the fuel they burn. None of us in this country have any experience using it" (BLOOMBERG, 3/9).
WIDESPREAD USE: In London, Ben Rumsby reported the potential scale of meldonium use by athletes "has been laid bare after it emerged almost 500 competitors at last year’s European Games may have been taking the drug." Research that contributed to the banning of the substance revealed that "up to 8.7 of athletes at the event in Baku might have been on the performance-booster." Published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the study found "an alarmingly high prevalence" of meldonium at the June Games, revealing 13 medalists had taken the drug, "which was still legal at the time." Of 762 urine samples analyzed during the Games and its pre-competition period, "meldonium was detected in 66" (TELEGRAPH, 3/9). REUTERS' Kate Kelland reported meldonium "was detected in athletes competing in 15 of the 21 sports in the competition." Researchers Klaus Steinbach and Christian Schneider of the European Olympic Committees Medical and Anti-Doping Commission said, "This study highlights the widespread and inappropriate use and prescribing of this prescription drug in a generally healthy athlete population." Steinbach and Schneider said since the samples and data from laboratories were "blinded" of all personal and demographic details, they "could not say which specific countries the athletes who tested positive for meldonium came from." They added that athletes' self-reported declarations of meldonium use suggested there is "higher use in countries where the drug is registered and prescribed then in countries where meldonium is not registered for medical use" (REUTERS, 3/9).
WADA CALLS FOR MORE FUNDING: BLOOMBERG's Tariq Panja reported days after Sharapova announced that she had failed a drug test, WADA President Craig Reedie made a "public appeal for increased funding, noting that the agency’s yearly budget is a shade less than the tennis star’s annual income." WADA has an annual budget of $29.1M, less than the estimated $29.5M Sharapova earned in prize money and endorsements in '15, according to Forbes. Reedie: "We could do with a lot more money. The accident of our budget and Miss Sharapova’s total earnings last year is only an accident, but to that extent it’s a convenient accident." WADA is "jointly funded by national governments" and the IOC (BLOOMBERG, 3/9).
SHOWING SUPPORT: The PA reported world No. 1 Novak Djokovic has given his support to Sharapova and said he hopes she "gets out of this stronger." Djokovic and Sharapova share a racket sponsor, while Djokovic has "famously done impressions of the Russian on court." He said, "I obviously wish her all the best. I’ve known her for a long time. I feel for her with all that’s happening and I just hope she gets out of this stronger." However, Chris Evert has "expressed surprise at what she called a lack of support within tennis for Sharapova." Evert: "Maria Sharapova has always isolated herself from the rest of the tennis world. She’s made that known, she can’t be friends with the players. I’m not seeing a lot of support from a lot of the players. I think everyone is being mum right now. Whether it’s shock or whether they don’t want to become involved or have an opinion about it, it’s sort of surprising that not a lot of players have shown their support for her" (GUARDIAN, 3/9).
KREMLIN DEFENSIVE: REUTERS' Denis Dyomkin reported the Kremlin's spokesperson said that a failed drug test by Sharapova should not be "projected onto" the whole of Russian sport. The spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, added on a conference call with journalists that Russia "was against attempts to politicize sporting matters" (REUTERS, 3/9). In Sydney, Christopher Clarey reported this break from the game for Sharapova "will be starkly different from the many breaks that have preceded it." It is possible that she "will not play on tour again." Sharapova will turn 29 next month. Her ban "could be as long as four years if she is found to have intentionally ingested a performance-enhancing substance." But the more likely outcome, according to legal experts, "is that she will be found not to have intentionally tried to cheat," which would mean that she would be a subject to a suspension of up to two years. U.S. sports lawyer Paul Greene, the founder of Global Sports Advocates, said, "I think that is the most likely outcome from what I heard in the press conference" (SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 3/9). The AP reported Russia's skating federation said that "sabotage is to blame for a string of recent failed doping tests for meldonium in Russia." At least three Russian speedskaters "have tested positive for meldonium." Skating Federation President Alexei Kravtsov said, "In our specific case, there is a very high probability, and we will prove it, that the banned substance was planted on three athletes deliberately. According to our information, it was done by their teammates." Kravtsov did not name any suspects or "say how the substance might have been given to them." He said the federation had tried to persuade police to investigate "but had been turned down on the grounds that there was insufficient evidence that a crime had been committed" (AP, 3/9).
