MOSCOW, March 3. /TASS/. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) reported three suspected violations of anti-doping regulations by Russian athletes over the past month, the agency’s spokeswoman told TASS on Tuesday.
"RUSADA has registered three cases of possible violations of anti-doping regulations in February," she said adding that in January the agency reported five of such cases.
Last year, RUSADA reported identifying 109 potential violations by Russian athletes involving performance enhancing drugs against 102 cases registered the year before.
In 2023, RUSADA reported an overall number of 150 potential violations by Russian athletes involving performance enhancing drugs. The figure for the year of 2022 was registered to stand at 135.
Most of the cases about the suspected anti-doping violations involve the use of anabolic steroids, diuretics and masking agents as well as the use of meldonium, a prohibited substance.
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).
Mildronate is a cardiovascular medication freely available for purchase at pharmacies across Russia without a doctor’s prescription.