Maria Sharapova & meldonium: Which drugs are on Wada's watch list?
- Published
Perhaps the warning signs were there for tennis player Maria Sharapova before she failed a drugs test for using meldonium.
The substance was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency's (Wada) list of prohibited substances on 1 January 2016, with five-time Grand Slam champion Sharapova failing a test at the Australian Open later that month.
However, meldonium, which is thought to improve an athlete's stamina and endurance, featured on Wada's watch list, external in 2015 - meaning it was not banned but was being monitored "in order to detect patterns of misuse in sport".
For a substance to be added to Wada's prohibited list involves a three-stage consultation process,, external which lasts several months and includes input from Wada experts, its health, medical and research committee (HMRC) and its executive committee.
According to Wada, a substance may be "considered" for the prohibited list if it meets two of the following three criteria:
Enhances performance
Poses a threat to athlete health
Violates the spirit of sport
A substance can be added to the prohibited list without first featuring on the watch list.
Meldonium - or mildronate as it was known to 28-year-old Russian Sharapova - is no longer on the 2016 watch list,, external but several other substances remain on it.
Some are monitored only during competition, some outside of competition and some both in and out of competition.
Which substances are on Wada's 2016 watch list?
Stimulants
Bupropion - anti-depressant
Caffeine - banned for 20 years until 2004
Nicotine
Phenylephrine and phenylpropanolamine - decongestants
Pipradrol - counters fatigue
Synephrine - found in weight-loss and energy products
Narcotics
Mitragynine - natural occurring plant compound said to aid recovery
Tramadol - strong painkiller
Glucocorticoids - anti-inflammatories
Telmisartan - used for high blood pressure
Read more on Sharapova's failed drugs test |
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- Published9 March 2016
- Published8 March 2016
- Published8 March 2016
- Published8 March 2016