LONDON (Reuters) - The use of meldonium - the banned drug taken by Russian tennis champion Maria Sharapova - was widespread among elite athletes competing at the European Games in Baku last year, according to research in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (BJSM).
The study, based on information volunteered by athletes and individual medical teams, and on laboratory data from doping tests from the Games in Azerbaijan, suggested up to 490 athletes may have been taking the drug during the competition.The findings showed that during the Baku Games, 13 medallists or competition winners were taking meldonium, 66 athletes tested positive for it, and they said meldonium was detected in athletes competing in 15 of the 21 sports in the competition."This study highlights the widespread and inappropriate use and prescribing of this prescription drug in a generally healthy athlete population," said the researchers, led by Klaus Steinbach and Christian Schneider of the European Olympic Committees Medical and Anti-Doping Commission.Some 6,000 athletes took part in the Games, the first major multi-sports event for the continent, with qualification spots on offer for August's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The BJSM said the research, published online on Wednesday, had been shared with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and had contributed to its decision to ban use of meldonium in competitive sport as of Jan. 1 this year.Sharapova tested positive for meldonium, also known by the brand name Mildronate, in a sample taken on Jan. 26, the day of her Australian Open quarter-final defeat to Serena Williams. She told a news conference her family doctor had first given her the drug 10 years ago after she frequently became sick, had irregular electrocardiogram results, a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes.The 28-year-old Russian, a five-time grand slam champion, will be provisionally suspended starting March 12, the International Tennis Federation said.Meldonium is marketed as Mildronate by the Latvian pharmaceutical firm Grindeks