Advertisement

Maria Sharapova and other athletes may have doping suspensions lifted

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova announces she failed a doing test during a March 7 news conference in Los Angeles.

Russian tennis player Maria Sharapova announces she failed a doing test during a March 7 news conference in Los Angeles.

(Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images)
Share

Maria Sharpova might get to play in the 2016 Summer Olympics after all.

The Russian tennis star and dozens of other athletes who have tested positive for meldonium might have their provisional suspensions lifted while officials further investigate the nature of the drug.

World Anti-Doping Agency officials said Wednesday they want to know more about meldonium -- a heart medication that can also enhance athletic performance -- and how long it remains in the system.

WADA added the medication to its banned substances list at the start of 2016, so officials are exploring the possibility that some athletes took it last year while it was still allowed, then tested positive after Jan. 1.

Advertisement

Among the 120 or so recorded positive tests are some athletes who claim they stopped using meldonium last year but that it remained in their systems for months.

Many of the suspended athletes are from Russia, which has joined other countries in asking for further studies.

Sharapova has acknowledged testing positive during the Australian Open in January but has not specified when she last took the drug.

Advertisement