Quote:
Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger
At first this is how I felt. Especially with how well she handled the press conference. Then I found out that the drug she was taking is clearly performance enhancing with no other medical benefits. It's a shame that WADA didn't ban it earlier. Give her a nice long ban and her career is effectively over.
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I've spent the last hour or so reading about meldonium. It's certainly not enough time to call myself an expect by any means, but my stance has changed too.
This isn't a case where someone was trying to get over a flu or viral infection, like some previous doping cases. She's been taking this for a decade. According to the manufacturer of meldonium, you're only supposed to take it for four to six weeks (
http://www.cbc.ca/sports/tennis/meld...pova-1.3480694).
"There is a potential of the substance to enhance performance and it has been described as a means to facilitate recovery and to enhance physical as well as mental workload capabilities."
Clearly, this is just the tip of the iceberg. It sounds like many athletes in Eastern Europe have been taking it.