On March 7, tennis star Maria Sharapova tested positive for a drug named “Meldonium” at the Australian Open.
Meldonium is a blood flow drug used to treat ischemia and has been found to help capacity in patients.
“One can feel a toning effect, one’s memory improves, thinking becomes faster, your movements become more dexterous, and your body becomes more able to defend itself against adverse conditions,” according to the Latvian-language description of the drug from the manufacturer’s website.
Sharapova has stated that she took the drug because her family doctor recommended it to help with recurring illnesses, low magnesium, irregular electrocardiogram results and a history of diabetes.
However, it came with dire results.
Meldonium was on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s watch list on Jan. 1, 2016.
Sharapova claimed that she did not know it was banned as she continued taking it.
In an article by The Wall Street Journal Sharapova is quoted saying, “I made a huge mistake,” Sharapova said. “I have to take full responsibility for it because it’s my body.”
After she failed the drug test, sponsors like Nike, Porsche and Tag Heuer have cut ties with Sharapova.
While many tennis fans will use this as ammo so they can debate who was better Sharapova or Serena Williams.
Sharapova also has been suspended from competing in future tennis events by the International Tennis Federation.
Despite all this, however, Russia’s tennis chief Shamil Tarpischev called the drug test “a load of nonsense” and said that he expected her to play at the Olympics in Brazil this summer.
The question that must be answered is will the Olympic committee allow her to?
