Dick Pound, the man who led the investigation into the athletics doping scandal, believes the drug for which Maria Sharapova tested positive has been widely used in top-level tennis.
Speaking at the Tackling Doping In Sport conference in London yesterday, Pound said a pattern of meldonium use has been identified across a number of sports but particularly tennis.
Apparently there is more to this particular drug than just Maria.... https://t.co/74fpK7KTGa
— Michael Soaries (@MichaelSoaries) March 10, 2016
The Canadian said it was such widespread use of a drug manufactured in Latvia for serious heart conditions and strokes — but believed to enhance athletic performance — that it was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency banned list on January 1.
‘Within the tennis circle they were aware that a lot of players were using it,’ said Pound, who was the founding president of Wada. ‘So it was referred to the Wada list committee, which did the research and concluded that it should be on the prohibited list.’
Research revealed 2.2 per cent of athletes tested around the world had traces of meldonium in their samples before it was banned, higher than the figure of two per cent for all performance-enhancing drugs detected from tests.
Yesterday research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine estimated that up to 490 athletes were taking meldonium at last year’s European Games in Baku. In real terms 66 of the 762 athletes tested — 8.7 per cent — were using meldonium at an event in which British boxers such as Nicola Adams participated, with most cases found in canoeing, wrestling and aquatics. The majority did not declare their meldonium use.
Pound has raised his concern about doping in tennis in the past. In 2013 he essentially accused the sport’s authorities of ‘not paying attention’ to the threat of the blood-boosting drug EPO and human growth hormone.
In combative mood, Pound suggested the cost of investigating any doping case with ‘probable cause’ should in part be paid by either the athlete or their federation. This came after one question highlighted the fact that Sharapova’s commercial earnings last year — according to Forbes — were almost identical to Wada’s annual budget: around £20.4million.
‘If we have enough information that our internal review committee thinks there’s probable cause, we could say, “We think it’s going to cost $1m so we think it’s appropriate for you to pay half up front”,’ he said. ‘You need to do something to get their attention.’
Pound joined other experts in expressing his surprise that Sharapova would say she has used a drug for 10 years that, according to its manufacturers, is only meant to be used for four to six weeks.
On Monday Sharapova gave a family history of diabetes as the reason for using meldonium but Grindeks, the Latvian company that produces the drug, said it was not indicated for diabetes.
By yesterday Sharapova’s lawyer, John Haggerty, had upgraded a family history of diabetes to a ‘family history of heart conditions’. He added: ‘Ms Sharapova had abnormal ECG tests in 2006 and was also diagnosed with asthenia (a lack of energy or strength), decreased immunity and diabetes indicators.
‘She also had a family history of heart conditions.The mildronate (meldonium) and other medicines recommended by her doctor treated these conditions.’
Meldonium is unavailable and unapproved in the USA, where Sharapova lives. Tom Bassindale, a lecturer in forensic science at Sheffield Hallam University, said: ‘Sharapova has been a US resident since early in her career, which does bring in a question of how or why she is using a drug that is not licensed there.’
*Sharapova is being offered a deal by a Russian entrepreneur who accused sponsors which deserted her of hypocrisy.
Oleg Tinkov, the multi-millionaire owner of the Tinkoff cycling team, wants her to promote Tinkoff Bank. Tinkov, 48, wrote on Facebook: ‘It’s striking the hypocrisy of Western brands — they don’t yet fully understand the situation but immediately terminate their contracts.’
A spokesperson for Tinkoff Bank yesterday told the Govorit Moskva radio station: ‘We are considering inviting Maria to join our TV advertising campaign.’ – Daily Mail