The Russian news agency TASS reported Monday that two Russian Wrestling Federation Greco-Roman competitors -- Evgeny Saleyev and Sergey Semyonov -- tested positive for the banned substance. Davit Modzmanashvili, who won the men's 120-kilogram silver medal in Greco-Roman wrestling at the 2012 Olympics for Georgia, tested positive last month ... while, late last week, an attorney for several members of a German wrestling club says one of them has tested positive for meldonium.
Saleyev, who wrestles at 82 kilos, is a silver medal winner at the 2014 World Championships in Tashkent and a winner of the European Games in Baku. Semyonov, a wrestler at 130 kg, claimed a silver medal at the 2015 World Cup.
"The press office of the Russian Wrestling Federation has said that if the fact of violations is confirmed, the relevant information will be posted on the organization's website and sent out upon the completion of the official probe," according to TASS.
Davit Modzmanashvili (Photo/Andrew Hipps)Georgian wrestling officials say that none of the six were confirmed to compete at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August, but that qualification was still possible.
In addition to the wrestler for the German team champion Nendingen club who admitted to using meldonium, another wrestler is suspected of exceeding infusion volumes allowed by the German anti-doping law, but has not failed a drug test, according to Associated Press.
Prosecutors in Freiburg, Germany have broadened their investigation to include other members of the Nendingen club.
Also known as mildronate, meldonium has been banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency since the beginning of this year. Late last week, WADA revealed that 99 athletes had tested positive for the drug which increases blood flow, thus, improves exercise capacity for athletes by carrying more oxygen to muscle tissue. While many who have tested positive have not yet been publicly identified, among those who have been named, include Olympic gold medalist in short-track speedskating Semion Elistratov of Russia, Olympic figure skating champion Ekaterina Bobrova, and world champion runner Abeba Aregawi of Sweden.
Meldonium, which is manufactured in Latvia, is only distributed in Russia and Baltic countries. While it is used to treat ischaemia -- a lack of blood flow to parts of the body, particularly in cases of angina or heart failure -- it is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States and is not authorized in the rest of Europe.
The decision to add meldonium to the banned list was approved by WADA in September 2015; it officially joined the banned list on January 1, 2016. According to The Guardian, WADA had spent the previous year monitoring the drug before adding it to the banned list. The British newspaper also reported that a 2015 study claimed 17% of Russian athletes (724 of 4,316) tested were found to have meldonium in their system. A global study found 2.2% of athletes had it in their system.
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