Russian 7s players test positive for meldonium

The doping samples of Alyona and Alexei Mikhaltsov, players of the Russian national Rugby sevens teams, have tested positively for the prohibited substance meldonium, a source close to the Russian Rugby League Federation told Interfax.

"Meldonium, a substance prohibited by WADA, has been found in the Mikhaltsovs' blood samples," the source said.

The source said both players previously did track and field athletics. "They are representatives of the Novosibirsk track and field athletics school," the source said.

http://rbth.com/news/2016/03/11/players-of-russian-national-rugby-sevens-teams-test-positive-for-meldonium_574871

interesting, a Russian volleyball player sample also failed a test on this very same substance in January after the final of the Olympic qualification tournament (so Russia could even be disqualified). that said it is important to stress that this product found in medicines was authorized till end of 2015... and many Russian sport men and women seem to take it (latest high profile case being being Maria Sharapova).

Yes, this is the same substance Sharapova was banned for using. It appears to be widespread in Russian sports - presumably acceptable there, but recently banned under international sports regulations.

It's not only Russians that do this (PED use). The only ones so far caught and/or exposed....

No doubt. I wonder why the Russians are the ones getting caught though. They've always been very efficient and organized in the world of sports. It seems strange that they would keep slipping up like this . . .

I dont actually understand why WADA has decided to ban it, is it from an "unsafe" perspective? or is it some moral perspective as in corrupting the spirit of sport?

aucklandlaurie wrote: I dont actually understand why WADA has decided to ban it, is it from an "unsafe" perspective? or is it some moral perspective as in corrupting the spirit of sport?

"demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions"

Meldonium is designed to increase blood flow and is only distributed in Russia and the Baltic countries. 17% of Russian athletes are estimated to use it, while 2.2% of athleties around the world are known to do so. However, so far only Russian and Ukrainian athletes have been tested positive for the substance since it was banned at the start of this year.

Hammersmith harrier wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote: I dont actually understand why WADA has decided to ban it, is it from an "unsafe" perspective? or is it some moral perspective as in corrupting the spirit of sport?

"demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions"

But couldnt you say the same thing for caffeine?

aucklandlaurie wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote: I dont actually understand why WADA has decided to ban it, is it from an "unsafe" perspective? or is it some moral perspective as in corrupting the spirit of sport?

"demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions"

But couldnt you say the same thing for caffeine?

The fact that Caffeine isn't banned is probably an indicator that the answer to that is No.

Caffeine has been in and out of the banned list in the past. Not sure of its current status. In sufficient quantities/concentrations, of course. 1 cuppa is not going to get you banned, even when it was on the list.

Off on a tangent a bit, but some drugs are sport specific too I think. I seem to remember that alcohol was on the list for certain sports, I.e those than needed a steady hand (shooting was one I think) as in small doses alcohol can have a calming effect, reduce anxiety, nerves, 'twitchiness', etc. and therefore bring about a steady hand which is a performance enhancement. In large doses I guess it has the opposite effect, and could mean they end up shooting someone in the crowd! Beta blockers are banned in those sports too for similar reasons. But alcohol, for example, would not be a performance enhancement to something like sprinting so is not on the list for them. Or something like that. I've been on the banned substances this evening myself so memory is a bit foggy...

Hammersmith harrier wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote: I dont actually understand why WADA has decided to ban it, is it from an "unsafe" perspective? or is it some moral perspective as in corrupting the spirit of sport?

"demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions"

But couldnt you say the same thing for caffeine?

The fact that Caffeine isn't banned is probably an indicator that the answer to that is No.

The fact that caffeine was on the banned list suggests to me that this may well be another example WADAs bumbling bungling ways.

Caffeine is crap!

Already I need another cup of tea right now to keep me going into the night (I'm having very late working nights these last few months). I think if I didn't take the cup, I'd probably be more productive but I find I need a cup to simply make myself do nothing for a few minutes and relax a little before another shunt on.....

So f**king tea is counter-intuitively a lazy basterde of a time waster really

aucklandlaurie wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote:

Hammersmith harrier wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote: I dont actually understand why WADA has decided to ban it, is it from an "unsafe" perspective? or is it some moral perspective as in corrupting the spirit of sport?

"demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activations of central nervous system (CNS) functions"

But couldnt you say the same thing for caffeine?

The fact that Caffeine isn't banned is probably an indicator that the answer to that is No.

The fact that caffeine was on the banned list suggests to me that this may well be another example WADAs bumbling bungling ways.

Training should be on the banned list! Afterall, if one guy trains harder than another guy, he's going to get an advantage - however slim that advantage may be. Yep, ban training unless we can quantify everyone gets the same amount.

Food too, Fly. Food is a sneaky recovery aid! Repairing those muscles and stoking the liver and muscle glycogen levels for the next event. Those players with a newsagent next to their house, with their easy access to pasties and crisps. They're at a clear advantage...

Not training would have the same effect as caffeine, it would extend the period to exhaustion.

Griff wrote:Food too, Fly. Food is a sneaky recovery aid! Repairing those muscles and stoking the liver and muscle glycogen levels for the next event. Those players with a newsagent next to their house, with their easy access to pasties and crisps. They're at a clear advantage...

Air is the worst one though, Griff. Some athletes even try to steal a few breaths when actually competing!!! I mean, it's that brazen and I've seen it with my own eyes - in case anyone accuses me of sensationalism.

On a serious note though, I've often wondered where or how the line is crossed. Taking a high carb drink before a race is designed to give you extra energy that you wouldn't have had if you hadn't taken it. If your fellow competitors haven't taken the same then you're at an advantage. Recovery drinks, sports massage, ice baths, etc. All for speedy recovery so training can be done more quickly after competition/training. Apart from a moral difference, what is the real difference with someone taking a banned substance? Is it just that the substance is not available to all, whereas energy drinks potentially are? Is it because drugging is done in private but legal supplements are done in plain view?

But where do you stop? I'm an avid cycling fan and cyclist (for my sins). Obviously you have the drugs problems with the sport, but then you also have the 'marginal gains' philosophy brought in by David Brailsford. Is there a great difference? Flying cyclists to their hotel so they get an extra few hours rest compared to competitors, for example, is something team sky have been doing but is in essence a sort of cheat as not all cyclists/teams have access to that (cannot afford it). A recovery advantage has been 'bought'. So where do we draw the line???

Id suggest a banned substance list of Whisky and heroin. all else is fair game.

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Id suggest a banned substance list  of Whisky and heroin. all else is fair game.

No make whisky and heroin mandatory. Would make some sports a lot more intresting. I'm looking at you indoor bowls

carpet baboon wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Id suggest a banned substance list  of Whisky and heroin. all else is fair game.

No make whisky and heroin mandatory. Would make some sports a lot more intresting. I'm looking at you indoor bowls

lol, and Father Jack wins twenty gold medals at the next Olympics for Ireland.

F1 racing at every pit stop you have to down a bottle of the local nastiest whisky, then set off in your 200mph car. That would make epic racing. And for once listening to the drivers talk to there crew would be worth it.

carpet baboon wrote:F1 racing at every pit stop you have to down a bottle of the local nastiest whisky, then set off in your 200mph car. That would make epic racing. And for once listening to the drivers talk to there crew would be worth it.

thats like Aucklands homeward bound commuter traffic on Friday nights.

The 100ms you have to cook up and inject at the gun then try and get to the finish line.

carpet baboon wrote:

aucklandlaurie wrote:
Id suggest a banned substance list  of Whisky and heroin. all else is fair game.

No make whisky and heroin mandatory. Would make some sports a lot more intresting. I'm looking at you indoor bowls

Given the average of bowlers, you would run into serious HSSE issues if you feed them with Whiskey and heroin!

WTF is HSSE?

Health and Safety Executive???

Health, safety, security and environment....

Ok how about distance running but you have to be on LSD

Would this go right down to school sports day levels?

yappysnap wrote:Would this go right down to school sports day levels?

No schools would just be buckfast and special brew

Yea needs to be cost effective, schools have limited budgets now days.

WADA now saying (via the Guardian) that 99 athletes have tested positive so far this year.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/mar/11/wada-99-positive-tests-meldonium-sharapova

I heard there's doubts meldonium even enhances sporting performance and that it was only stuck on the banned list because it showed up in so many tests.

ebop wrote:I heard there's doubts meldonium even enhances sporting performance and that it was only stuck on the banned list because it showed up in so many tests.

If it's banned, it's banned. Surely part of the legislation should be about protecting athletes messing about with, for example, heart medicine when they don't need it?

ebop wrote:I heard there's doubts meldonium even enhances sporting performance and that it was only stuck on the banned list because it showed up in so many tests.

There is certainly some truth in that. Specially as depending of the actual concentration Meldonium performance enhancing value is close to nil. Also might be a knee jerk reaction from the WADa following all the recent issues with doping amongst Russian track athletes.

whocares wrote:

ebop wrote:I heard there's doubts meldonium even enhances sporting performance and that it was only stuck on the banned list because it showed up in so many tests.

There is certainly some truth in that. Specially as depending of the actual concentration Meldonium performance enhancing value is close to nil. Also might be a knee jerk reaction from the WADa following all the recent issues with doping amongst Russian track athletes.

Athletes haven't been taking this stuff because it is ineffectual. They take it because it gives an edge of some sort. To me, the clue is that it has limited manufacture and distribution, mainly eastern Europe. It is not there for Mother Love.

whocares wrote:Also might be a knee jerk reaction from the WADa following all the recent issues with doping amongst Russian track athletes.

Good call whocares, WADA taking no chances with the Russians.

It's strange so many have been caught out after it was added to the list. Wonder if some were inadvertently taking it without knowing? Anyways, they should know what they're ingesting so not much sympathy.

From the Kremlin:

Russian President Vladimir Putin held Russia’s Ministry of Sport liable for the latest doping scandal linked to the use of Meldonium by some Russian athletes and sharply criticized it for failing to react in a timely manner to the ban of some drugs.
Russian sports authorities “failed to understand the urgency of this issue and did not update [Russian] stop-lists in time and did not inform our athletes and coaches about the World Anti-Doping Agency’s decision to ban some drugs in a timely manner,” Putin said at a meeting with the Cabinet, as quoted by Russian media.


The Russian President also urged officials not to politicize the doping scandal and not to construct conspiracy theories stressing that they should instead react to the WADA’s recommendations in a timely fashion.

“There is no need for politicizing or for developing any conspiracy theory. One should systematically, and in good time, react to decisions, which are taken particularly at the level of international organizations,” he said as quoted by TASS.

Putin also called on Russian authorities to more actively cooperate with WADA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in order to avoid such incidents in the future. He demanded the toughening of the punishment for violation of anti-doping rules, stressing at the same time that most Russian athletes have nothing to do with doping and should not suffer from such scandals.

The president urged the government “to take the issue seriously” and “do everything possible” in order to avoid such situations in the future.

The latest doping scandal is linked to the use of Meldonium by some athletes. Meldonium was first developed in Latvia in the early 2000s as a treatment for ischemia, a health condition which results from a reduction in blood flow to body tissues. It has been banned by WADA since January 1.

Since that time, the number of positive tests among athletes for Meldonium has already reached 100 and includes famous Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova, a five-time grand slam champion. Other known Meldonium users are Swedish distance runner and 2013 world champion Abeba Aregawi, Russian cyclist Eduard Vorganov and Ukrainian biathlete Olga Abramova.

Reassuring!

doctor_grey wrote:

whocares wrote:

ebop wrote:I heard there's doubts meldonium even enhances sporting performance and that it was only stuck on the banned list because it showed up in so many tests.

There is certainly some truth in that. Specially as depending of the actual concentration Meldonium performance enhancing value is close to nil. Also might be a knee jerk reaction from the WADa following all the recent issues with doping amongst Russian track athletes.

Athletes haven't been taking this stuff because it is ineffectual.  They take it because it gives an edge of some sort.  To me, the clue is that it has limited manufacture and distribution, mainly eastern Europe.  It is not there for Mother Love.  

The bold sentence, I'd change to say that the athletes believe they are getting an edge. There's probably an element of whispering amongst the Russian / Eastern European sportsmen who have been taking this drug, saying that it helps them, even if this is anecdotal or even placebo.

It's actually difficult to prove (in a scientifically rigorous manner) that anything is performance enhancing, even if theory says it should be. Heck, I'm not even sure whether there are papers that clearly demonstrate the performance enhancing effects of EPO, although the observational / anecdotal evidence is very strong that it is at least beneficial in endurance sports. Meldonium on its own as I understand is intended to increase blood flow, which should in theory offer some benefits but significantly less than oxygen vector doping.

Of course there is a reason that the main users of this drug are Russian - the drug was developed in the old Soviet Union and is produced in Latvia,, but has never been licensed across western Europe or North America, most probably just because there are alternative medicines available that do a similar job.

Meldonum user. Says it all. After all why use it? To gain an advantage. It's not like oops bumped into a pal and went for a coffee and.... and ..... and. Shara ought to be ashamed. I loved her when she beat Serena at Wimbo all those years ago and she's still around. But all this blah about family doctor undiagnosed heart/ diabetic/ asthmatic condition. She can please just f*ck off.

Mmmmm

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2016/04/02/premier-league-stars-given-banned-drugs-by-british-doctor/

Mmmmm or Hmmmm?

Yep............... the net closes - even if it is all still just 'hear-say' and 'innuendo'.  Smart people simply don't believe what they're seeing in much sport these days.... and like I've said before, not just in Russian sport.  So the snooping and undercover investigations will continue until someone somewhere breaks again big time.

The energy reserves of sportsmen now in many various sports - even as all sports get tougher and tougher in the energy reserves they demand - is just not believable.  Fans and sponsors require ever more thrills and spills in faster and faster games and coincidently players seem ready to meet the often unreal expectations of fans.  It's too neat.  It's too clever.  Create the athletes to give the video gamers what they want from RT sportsmen and reap, reap, reap the rewards.  

Dancing at speed through hard, hard games with more pace, more physicality, more quick recovery rates in games themselves and then miraculous recovery rates between hard, hard games too............ well, I certainly put my hand up and say I don't believe much of it.  

I don't believe in the notion that players can steam through games and still look fresh as daisies as they shake hands with absolutely shattered looking opponents.  I don't believe there are legitimate chasms of disparity between two highly professional training methods that leads often to such pointed mismatches of stamina witnessed in competitions. And I don't believe it's just that athletes now train harder than their 'ancestors'... or that the legit 'science' is just much better these days.

The illegit science is much better these days too and there are definitely individuals and teams in many sporting disciplines benefiting from it.  The time for 'Hear say' and 'media sting operations' is over.  It's time for a few courageous inside men to stand up and admit the truth, take the hit and allow past opponents the right to think 'Hey, maybe we weren't so shyte after all.'

I'm prepared to offer my services fly.

Lock me up in a room with Sharapova for a couple of days and I'll get you all the intel you want.

I like your zeal Laurie! More people like you on my new Force and we'll get to the nub of this right quick.

I'll be taking all the female high jumpers in for questioning myself..... those long long adorab.... I mean those legs need explaining!

The word of the day is legs....spread the word.

The World Rugby organization exonerated Alexei Mikhaltsov, who tested positive for the prohibited substance meldonium, head of Russian Rugby Federation's elite rugby department Dmitry Afinogenov told Interfax.

"All sanctions against Mikhaltsov have been lifted. We received a notification today, and from this day he has been cleared of all restrictions on participation in competitions," Afinogenov said.

Word Rugby announced the decision to temporarily ban Russian rugby players Alyona Mikhaltsova and Alexei Mikhaltsov from competitions due to traces of the prohibited substance of meldonium in their doping tests on March 12.

Mikhaltsov was suspended from competing starting February 4, 2016, and Mikhaltsova was suspended starting February 26, 2016.

https://rbth.com/sport/2016/05/25/world-rugby-amnesties-russian-player-mikhaltsov-in-meldonium-case_597291

SecretFly wrote:

I like your zeal Laurie!  More people like you on my new Force and we'll get to the nub of this right quick.

I'll be taking all the female high jumpers in for questioning myself..... those long long adorab.... I mean those legs need explaining!

.......and the moustaches?