Maria and meldonium. Misjudgement and mistake. Monumental mess. M and M

CEBU, Philippines - Meldonium, also marketed as Mildronate, is manufactured by Grindenks, a company from Latvia.  Former Soviet and Eastern European countries commonly use the drug for people with heart and circulatory conditions.  According to company press releases, it affords patients more “physical capacity and mental function”.  Likewise, it gives the same benefits to healthy individuals.  Because of the added boost, several athletes were tested and confirmed to be using the drug.

The Partnership for Clean Competition (PCC), a US-based anti-doping group, in a testing done to 8,300 urine samples from athletes, said that meldonium was found in 182 of the samples.  The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) then announced in September of last year, after monitoring the use and effect of the drug, said that meldonium will be declared as a banned substance beginning January 2016 because it helps in oxygen uptake and endurance.

Former WADA head Dick Pound said that, “Anytime there is a change to the list, notice is given on 30 September prior to the change.  You have October, November, December to get off what you are doing.”  In other words, users have a three-month window to clear their systems of whatever they’re using.  He further added that meldonium was added to the list as there was no need for it over a long period of time.

Maria Sharapova, the glam girl of tennis, recently admitted she tested positive of the banned drug.  The International Tennis Federation, in a statement said that she failed a drug test on January 26 and accepted the results upon notification on March 2 and was provisionally suspended beginning March 12.  With the offense, ITF’s anti-doping program could ban her from tennis for 2 years if deemed accidental and four years if the violation was intentional.

WADA, in the wake of the Sharapova controversy, has recorded 99 positive tests for meldonium since it was outlawed beginning January 1.  Because it is an over-the-counter drug in most of Eastern Europe, majority of those tested positive come from these countries.

As per MarSha, she had been taking the drug for 10 years to treat magnesium deficiency and heart issues.  Within that period, she had dated, got engaged and broken up with tennis player Andy Roddick, film producer Charlie Ebersol, former Laker and now New York Knick Sasha Vujacic.  She recently split with Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov.  With all the broken relationships, MarSha naturally and surely has issues with the heart.

As the world’s richest female athlete, she must have on her payroll personal assistants and professionals to take care of her transactions.  Among the professionals are a team of trainers, therapists and doctors.  For all their worth, they should have known and must be aware of the latest medical bulletins as they are the ones taking care their client’s physical condition.   But taking into account MarSha’s admission of using it for a decade, somebody was monitoring it, considering that all medications if taken over the limit, have contra-indications.

There was an obvious negligence on MarSha and with her medical team.   Athletes are tested regularly for illegal drugs that even simple medications might contain prohibited substances.  That is why top-level athletes have a team of medical practitioners to monitor what they’re ingesting.  Tennis in particular is trying hard to keep its image clean but with this happening, there will be some major damage control.

On the upside, MarSha was honest and courageous enough to admit her mistake.  It takes a special kind of person to do just that.  Compare her immediate admission to several big-name dopers who fabricate truckloads of motherhood denial statements. 

With a personal fortune of $200million, MarSha could very well do without tennis.  The bulk of her $30million earnings last year came from endorsements but with Nike, TAG Heuer and Porsche dropping her, things could drastically change.  Maria Sharapova is tennis and I would really like to see her back in the game she loved since she was 7-years old. (FREEMAN)