Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said that "nearly all of the Russian athletes who tested positive for the banned drug meldonium this year had returned to competition," according to Patrick Reevell of the N.Y. TIMES. The "notable exception" is tennis champion Maria Sharapova. More than 40 Russian athletes have tested positive for meldonium since WADA added it to the prohibited list in January, "wreaking havoc on team lineups and affecting some of the country’s top sports figures." But Russian officials "believe their meldonium nightmare may be nearing its end." Following a shift in WADA guidelines last month, most Russian cases involving meldonium "have been quashed or provisional suspensions lifted after the athletes proved that their positive tests had resulted from use of the drug before it was banned." Mutko said, "In Russia, not one athlete has been punished." For weeks, Russian sporting officials have argued that their athletes "were unfairly being penalized for meldonium taken before it was banned." Responding to that complaint, WADA issued new guidelines in April, "establishing permitted amounts of meldonium in antidoping tests, which would indicate whether an athlete had taken it before the ban." With many of its athletes "seemingly in the clear, Russia’s top investigative agency on Friday announced a probe into why sports officials did not ensure that the meldonium ban was properly observed" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/20).
