Australian Rugby Union CEO Bill Pulver. (Photo: Stefan Postles, Getty) Story Highlights Report finds doping is 'widespread' 
 
 Organized-crime syndicates involved 
 
 No individuals named 
 
 A lengthy investigation into the use of doping in Australian sports has found that the practice is "widespread." 
 
 The Australian Crime Commission issued a report Thursday in which it said "peptides and hormones are being used by professional athletes in Australia, facilitated by sports scientists, high-performance coaches and sports staff." 
 
 The commission, which did not name specific individuals, said that the drugs were being used by multiple players across different sports disciplines and that in some instances the banned substances were being supplied though the help of organized-crime groups. 
 
 "Organized crime has been found to have a tangible and expanding footprint in this market," the commission concluded. 
 
 "There are clear parallels between what has been discovered in Australia and the USADA investigation into Lance Armstrong," the report said. "The difference is that the Australian threat is current, crosses sporting codes and is evolving." 
 
 MORE: FDA investigating aspects related to Armstrong case 
 
 The Australian Football League (Aussie Rules) and the National Rugby League are the two sports "codes" that are under the most scrutiny. 
 
 "This is not a black day in Australian sport, this is the blackest day in Australian sport," said Richard Ings, the former head of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority, speaking on Australia's ABC TV. ||||| CLOSE Tennis star said the drug's name is Meldonium and it had been prescribed by a doctor for a magnesium deficiency. USA TODAY Sports 
 
 Maria Sharapova speaks to the media announcing a failed drug test after the Australian Open during a press conference today at The LA Hotel Downtown. (Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea, USA TODAY Sports) 
 
 LOS ANGELES -- Tennis star Maria Sharapova admitted Monday she failed a drug test. 
 
 "I take full responsibility for it," she said. "I made a huge mistake. I let my fans down. I let my sport down. 
 
 "I don't want to end my career this way. ... I know many of you thought I was retiring. But if I was ever going to announce my retirement it would not be in this downtown Los Angeles hotel with this fairly ugly carpet." 
 
 She said the drug's name is Meldonium and had been prescribed by a doctor. She said she has a magnesium deficiency and a family history of diabetes. She said the drug was not on the banned list for the last 10 years but as of Jan. 1 the rules changed. She said she does not know yet how long she will be held out of competition. The test was done at the Australian Open in January. 
 
 Meldonium is used therapeutically as an anti-ischemic drug to treat patients with angina and myocardial infarction. 
 
 A statement from the World Anti-Doping Agency confirmed the drug was added to the banned list this year "because of evidence of its use by athletes with the intention of enhancing performance." 
 
 After the press conference, her attorney, John Haggerty, said "a positive drug test could result in a ban of up to four years" from the International Tennis Federation. But he added that "mitigating circumstances can lead to the elimination of a ban altogether. ... We're still determining what we are going to request of them. I've asked them to have a cooperative process." 
 
 The ITF posted a statement on its website from the Tennis Anti-Doping Program that included background on the failed test: 
 
 "On 26 January 2016, Ms Sharapova provided an anti-doping sample to the TADP in association with her participation in the 2016 Australian Open. 
 
 "That sample was analysed by a World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) accredited laboratory, which returned a positive for meldonium, which is a prohibited substance under the WADA Code and, therefore also the TADP. 
 
 "In accordance with Article 8.1.1 of the TADP, Ms Sharapova was charged on 2 March with an Anti-Doping Rule Violation. 
 
 "Ms Sharapova has accepted the finding of meldonium in her sample collected on 26 January. 
 
 "As meldonium is a non-specified substance under the WADA (and, therefore, TADP) list of Prohibited Substances and Prohibited Methods, Ms Sharapova will be provisionally suspended with effect from 12 March, pending determination of the case." 
 
 
 
 Last week she announced she was pulling out of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells because of a left forearm injury. She withdrew from the 2015 U.S. Open because of a right leg injury. 
 
 
 
 Sharapova, 28, has won five Grand Slam titles, including Wimbledon in 2004, her first Slam title. She ascended to No. 1 in the rankings in 2005 and later achieved a career Grand Slam by winning the U.S. Open in 2006, the Australian Open in 2008 and the French Open in 2012 and 2014. 
 
 
 
 She has amassed earned almost $37 million in career earnings, second only to Serena Williams, who has earned more than $75 million. But the 6-2, blond-haired Russian has made far more off than court thanks to a slew of lucrative endorsement deals with companies such as Porsche, Tiffany and Tag Heuer. 
 
 
 
 In 2010, she signed a deal with Nike worth $70 million over eight years. 
 
 Nike said it was suspending its relationship with Sharapova while the investigation continued. Tag Heuer said Tuesday that it would not renew her contract, which expired on Dec. 31. The firm said it was previously in talks to extend the collaboration. Porsche on Tuesday said it suspended planned activities with Sharapova pending the release of further details, according to media reports. 
 
 Sharapova, who also has modeled, has drawn attention for her personal life. She once dated Maroon 5 singer Adam Levine and her other boyfriends included Grigor Dimitrov, the Bulgarian tennis star who also dated Serena Williams, and Sasha Vujačić, a Slovenian basketball player now with the New York Knicks. 
 
 
 
 Sharapova moved from Russia to the United States with her family age 7 and now lives in Manhattan Beach, Calif. 
 
 PHOTOS: MARIA SHARAPOVA THROUGH THE YEARS ||||| In a rather delightful turn of events, the American Olympic gymnast, Simone Biles, has recently become a sensation and almost-household name thanks to her jaw-dropping power, laser precision and pure dynamism. She’s certainly the best gymnast I’ve seen in my lifetime and is bound to be a history-maker and record-breaker. 
 
 It’s truly wonderful to see people coming together in awe of an athlete for whom no performance enhancing drug would add to her medal tally. Technique that money can’t buy and humility to match, what could be better? Any chef de mission will tell you that her results are the envy of Olympians worldwide. 
 
 Gymnastics is a regular Olympic Games favourite, the gravity-defying tumbles are enough to keep anyone entertained. Sadly, for the first time in a number of years, Australia failed to field an Olympic women’s gymnastics team in Rio. Our sole competitor, Larissa Miller, did her country proud with solid performances on floor and uneven bars but was denied a spot in the finals. 
 
 Simone Biles the bandleader of a US quintet that might never be bettered | Bryan Armen Graham Read more 
 
 Lauren Mitchell, an Olympian and Australia’s first-ever female gymnastics world champion, was devastated to miss out on an Olympic berth due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament. Mitchell achieved an historic result for Australia in 2010, something to be truly proud of, but it would be misinformed to say that it was meaningful in terms of an upward trajectory for the Australian gymnastics team. Comparatively, American women’s gymnasts have won the past four Olympic all-around titles, with an American in silver at two of those Games. 
 
 Australia has long been a nation that has punched above its weight in the Olympic medal tally. Swimming, rowing, hockey, sailing, cycling, and most recently, women’s sevens rugby, we’ve managed to enjoy a reasonably consistent level of achievement over the past decades. So, you might find yourself asking – why are we not achieving better results in gymnastics? 
 
 Almost anyone that has turned on the telly in Australia during an Olympic Games will tell you that the coverage leaves a lot to be desired. You’re bound to see an awful lot of swimming; swimming heats, swimming semi-finals, swimming medal ceremonies. Heats, repeats, bronze medals. Over and over. Unless there’s a gold medal within very close proximity in any other sport, you can be assured that it will only be covered in dribs and drabs; the main focus always on the pool. 
 
 A lack of meaningful television coverage for minor Olympic sports may seem like a petty complaint, but like all actions, it has a consequence. A successful sporting code relies on one thing: competition. And what drives competition is high participation numbers. If a sport has meagre participation in a country, it’s almost guaranteed to deliver mediocre performances because the competition is not tough enough to drive the nation forward. 
 
 In the USA, gymnastics competitions are televised, the top competitors have sponsorship deals, and people know who they are. These are all clearly benefits of a slew of great results, but they also have the side-effect of getting more kids into more gyms. 4.6 million Americans participated in gymnastics in 2014 – 1.4% of the population. Having higher levels of participation provides more coaching opportunities for retired elite gymnasts, which then keeps the knowledge, expertise and heritage of a top gymnast inside the sport, instead of having retired gymnasts having to get jobs outside of gymnastics. It’s a cyclical effect; we need to build the same culture of being a “gymnast for life” in Australia that exists in the USA, China and Russia. 
 
 Once we make a commitment to our gymnasts, we’ll find that top-notch international coaches will be attracted to our sunny climates, driving the sport forward even further. When Peggy Liddick, the American coach to the multi-Olympic gold medalist, Shannon Miller, moved to Australia to head up our gymnastics team in 1996, we saw phenomenal results and improvement in our team. Liddick was the coach who helped Australia snag its first-ever world championship medals and has transformed gymnastics in Australia, but increased visibility and competition will only make it better. 
 
 Admittedly, gymnastics is hardly as inclusive as say, swimming or athletics, but if Australia’s proud history of incredible sporting achievements is anything to go by, there’s no real reason why we can’t claim this sport amongst them. After yet another disappointing Olympics for Australia, it’s time that the Australian media diversifies its sporting interests and ends the obsession with showing every single swimming event. And heat, and repeat, and bronze medal.
– Australian sports are besieged by performance-enhancing drugs and organized crime, according to a year-long government investigation, reports the Wall Street Journal. The report didn't name names, but it indicated illegal hormones and other performance enhancers are widespread in Australian sports, facilitated by coaches and trainers. "The findings are shocking and will disgust Australian sports fans," said Australia's Justice and Home Affairs Minister Jason Clare. "It's cheating, but it's worse than that. It's cheating with the help of criminals." The probe also found criminal networks growing increasingly involved in Australian sports, partially because of the PEDs and partially because of the growing popularity of betting, especially in rugby and Australian rules football, with at least "one occasion" of match fixing. "This is not a black day in Australian sport, this is the blackest day in Australian sport," the former head of the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority told USA Today.