MOSCOW, September 11. /TASS/. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) reported seven suspected violations of anti-doping regulations by Russian athletes in August, RUSADA’s spokesperson told TASS on Wednesday.

"RUSADA has registered seven cases of possible violations of anti-doping regulations in August 2024," the spokesperson stated.

According to TASS data, RUSADA earlier reported four suspected violations of anti-doping regulations in January, four more in February, seven in March, four in April, six in May, 14 in June, 13 in April and seven in August, which brings the total amount to 59 since the beginning of the year.

Last year, RUSADA reported identifying 150 potential violations by Russian athletes involving performance enhancing drugs. The figure for the year of 2022 was registered to stand at 135.

RUSADA reported earlier that up to 25% of all reported anti-doping violations among Russian athletes last year were registered by the agency regarding the use of meldonium, a prohibited substance. Other reported cases of anti-doping violations involved the use of anabolic steroids, diuretics and masking agents.

The drug meldonium (mildronate) was placed on WADA’s prohibition list on January 1, 2016. The presence of this substance in an athlete’s bloodstream during and between competitions is a violation of the 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.