‘Meldonium ban politically-motivated move against Russian athletes’

Moscow, April 19 (IANS) The decision of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to include Meldonium in the list of the banned performance-enhancing drugs was a politically motivated campaign against Russian athletes, Federal Micro-Biological Agency (FMBA) head Vladimir Uiba said on Tuesday.

"Undoubtedly, it was a politically-motivated template to be used against our (Russian) national team," Uiba said.

"Someone cannot simply forgive us for our triumph in Sochi (at the 2014 Winter Olympics)."

"WADA was well aware that Meldonium was mostly used in Russia. It was used in Europe as well but was consumed on the greater scale in Russia," he added.

According to WADA’s most recent data, a total of over 170 doping samples worldwide tested positive for Meldonium, including some 30 Russian athletes.

"The drug is accumulating (in the body) if an athlete is taking it for years," Uiba said.

"This is why WADA was perfectly aware that it was impossible to make the drug leave the body system within a three-month period. It was announced in autumn that the preparation would be included in the list of the banned substances."

"On January 1, they officially proclaimed it to be a doping substance. It was immediately clear to everyone that it would not leave the body system within three months. That is why they (WADA) recently announced the amnesty," the FMBA head continued.

WADA announced last Wednesday that the concentration of less than one microgram of Meldonium in the body system of an athlete, whose doping tests were conducted before March 1, was acceptable.

Uiba said that the research, currently conducted by the FMBA, already shows that it takes at least six months for Meldonium to dehydrate.

The drug was included in the list of preparations banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency from January 1, 2016. The presence of the Meldonium substance in the athlete’s blood during and between competitions is a violation of anti-doping rules. The substance belongs to S4 class on the WADA blacklist (hormones and metabolic modulators).

Meldonium is a cardiovascular preparation freely available for purchase at pharmacies across Russia without doctor’s prescription.