MOSCOW, November 8. /TASS/. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) has reported 23 cases of national athletes testing positive for the banned substance meldonium since the start of the year, the agency said in a statement on Wednesday.

"As of the end of October 2023, we have identified 23 cases of meldonium use," the statement reads.

"Eight athletes were suspended due to the presence of meldonium, its metabolites or markers in collected samples, while 15 more [athletes] are currently on stand-by awaiting test results," according to RUSADA.

"Respective sanctions were introduced against 19 and 18 athletes in 2022 and 2021 respectively for the same thing," Russia’s anti-doping agency added.

"International [sports] federations reported three cases of meldonium use in 2023, with two athletes being disqualified in both 2021 and 2022," RUSADA added in its statement.

RUSADA Director General Veronika Loginova announced late last year that up to 25% of all reported anti-doping violations in 2022 by Russian athletes were for positive tests for meldonium, a prohibited substance.

Other reported cases of anti-doping violations in 2022 involved the use of anabolic steroids, diuretics and masking agents.

The drug meldonium (mildronate) was placed on WADA’s prohibited list on January 1, 2016. The presence of this substance in an athlete’s bloodstream during and between competitions is a violation of anti-doping rules. Meldonium is categorized by WADA’s blacklist as an S4 class substance (hormones and metabolic modulators).

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

RUSADA’s cooperation with Turkey

In March 2022, RUSADA inked a cooperation agreement with the Turkish anti-doping laboratory, which had valid accreditation from the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Under Russia’s previously limited air traffic with Europe at that time, the agreement allowed RUSADA to conduct testing of athletes’ blood samples within the required period, as well as to carry on with its program on athletes’ biological passports.

Last month, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency collected, a total number of 1,416 doping samples from Russian athletes.

In all, according to TASS, RUSADA collected a total number of 9,482 doping samples over ten months of 2023 (1,416 in October; 1,246 in September; 806 in August; 734 in July; 725 in June; 846 in May; 996 in April; 853 in March; 961 in February and 899 in January).