Maria Sharapova might get her ban lifted after WADA admission
Tennis star Maria Sharapova and other athletes may get a reprieve for their recent failed drug tests, which were found to contain meldonium, a substance whose ban went into effect Jan. 1 of this year.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) sent out a statement on Monday acknowledging it had insufficient evidence as to how long the drug stays in a person's system and therefore could have been ingested before it became a banned substance.
The BBC had details on Wada's statement:
"There is currently a lack of clear scientific information on excretion times," the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) said in new guidance distributed on Monday.
"For this reason, a hearing panel might justifiably find (unless there is specific evidence to the contrary) that an athlete who has established on the balance of probabilities that he or she ingested meldonium before 1 January could not reasonably have known or suspected that the meldonium would still be present in his or her body on or after 1 January.
"In these circumstances, Wada considers that there may be grounds for no fault or negligence on the part of the athlete."
Sharapova's the biggest name among more than 120 failed tests since the beginning of 2016, one of many Russian athletes to run afoul of the new guidelines. Her test was taken at the end of January and she admitted to using the substance for extended periods over several years.
While the news might get her back on to the court soon, Sharapova's already felt the brunt in terms of endorsement deals -- Nike, Porsche and Tag-Heuer all quickly cut ties with the tennis star.
Russia's U18 hockey team was also entirely replaced over several failed tests related to meldonium and the country has seen failed tests from athletes in many other sports as well.
What is Meldonium? From a previous story:
According to the drug's manufacturer's website, a Latvian company called Grindex, meldonium -- also known as mildronate -- is an anti-ischemic drug used to help people with cardiac issues and circulation problems. Ischemia is a disease which interrupts blood flow to an organ or tissue in the body, so an anti-ischemic such as meldonium works to reverse that. The drug additionally improves physical capacity and mental function.
But according to a German research study, meldonium also helps increase an athlete's endurance, protects against stress, improves an athlete's recovery time after exercise and enhances certain activations of central nervous system functions. That means meldonium can be used to enhance performance.
