Varvara Lepchenko Tested Positive For Meldonium But Won’t Get Banned

 

Varvara Lepchenko has escaped punishment after being found to have committed an anti-doping offence by taking meldonium. The American, who was born in Uzbekistan, tested positive for the substance, which was added to the banned list on January 1, during in-competition drug testing at the Brisbane International a week after the ban came into action and on three other occasions.

She was provisionally banned in April but successfully applied to have that suspension lifted as the meldonium in her system came from a course of Mildronate tablets she had stopped taking on or around December 20. The decision to overturn her ban came after a note from the World Anti-Doping Agency that the cardiac drug stayed in the body a lot longer than had been previously thought.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said in a statement on Tuesday saying “It was accepted by the ITF that Ms. Lepchenko bore no fault or negligence for the violation, and that any period of ineligibility that may otherwise have been imposed is eliminated entirely under Programme Article 10.4. The results that Ms. Lepchenko obtained at the 2016 Brisbane International event are automatically disqualified pursuant to [Tennis Anti-Doping Programme] TADP Article 9.1 and TADP Article 9.2.1, and the points and prize money that she won are forfeit. This presence violation will be disregarded for sanctioning purposes in the event that Ms. Lepchenko commits any further anti-doping rule violation.”

Former world No 1 Maria Sharapova is currently serving a two-year ban after testing positive for meldonium during this year's Australian Open. Sharapova appealed against the decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and is expected to learn her fate in the first week of October