fault pavel kulizhnikov russiaspeed skating2016 world sprint speed skating championshipsno fault ekaterina bobrova russiafigure skating2016 european figure skating championshipsno fault olga abramova ukrainebiathlonno fault - but her results between 10 january 2016 and 3 february 2016 were voided artem tyshchenko ukrainebiathlon abeba aregawi swedenathletics endeshaw negesse ethiopiaathletics yuliya yefimova russiaswimmingtwo out of competition tests – 15 & 24 februaryno fault nadezhda kotlyarova russiaathleticscleared by rusada sergei semenov russiawrestlingcleared by rusada evgeny saleev russiawrestling anastasia chulkova russiacyclingcleared by rusada gabriela petrova bulgariaathletics6 february 2016suspension temporarily lifted pavel kulikov russiaskeletonsuspension temporarily lifted andrei rybakou belarusweightlifting nikolai kuksenkov russiaartistic gymnastics elena mirela lavric romaniaathletics2016 iaaf world indoor championships denis yartsev russiajudo mikhail pulyaev russiajudo natalia kondratieva russiajudo igor mikhalkin russiaboxing (professional)12 march 20162-year ban ruth kasirye norwayweightliftingout of contest routine testing – 25 january 2016suspended until 21 july 2018 éva tófalvi romaniabiathlon anastasiya mokhnyuk ukraineathletics islam makhachev russiammaout of contest routine testingprovisional suspension lifted after 75 days davit chakvetadze russiawrestlingcleared by rusada armantas vitkauskas lithuaniafootball martynas dapkus lithuaniafootball andrii kviatkovskyi ukrainewrestlingprovisionally suspended alen zasyeyev ukrainewrestlingprovisionally suspended oksana herhel ukrainewrestlingprovisionally suspended varvara lepchenko united statestennisno fault antonina skorobogatchenko russiahandball mariia dudina russiahandball maxwell holt united statesvolleyball tamerlan tagziev canadawrestling4-year ban daniel omielańczuk polandmmano fault alexander krushelnitsky russiacurling2018 winter olympics4-year ban; mixed doubles bronze medal stripped ray walker irelandgaelic football4-year ban oleksandr senkevych ukrainecanoe sprint2019 icf canoe sprint world championships4-year ban aybol abiken kazakhstanfootball3-year ban ahmed abdelwahed italyathletics in addition it was reported that five georgian wrestlers and a german wrestler had tested positive for the drug although no further names were released. on 25 march 2016 the fédération internationale de sambo confirmed that four wrestlers under their governance (two from russia and two from other countries) had recorded positive tests for the drug. debates a december 2015 study in the journal drug testing and analysis argued that meldonium "demonstrates an increase in endurance performance of athletes, improved rehabilitation after exercise, protection against stress, and enhanced activation of central nervous system (cns) functions". however the study itself presents no evidence for this claim, and focuses instead on describing two approaches for the reliable identification of meldonium. the manufacturer, grindeks, said in a statement that it did not believe meldonium's use should be banned for athletes. it said the drug worked mainly by reducing damage to cells that can be caused by certain byproducts of carnitine. meldonium "is used to prevent death of ischemic cells and not to increase performance of normal cells", the statement said. "meldonium cannot improve athletic performance, but it can stop tissue damage in the case of ischemia", the lack of blood flow to an area of the body. the drug was invented in the mid-1970s at the institute of organic synthesis of the latvian ssr academy of sciences by ivars kalviņš. kalviņš criticized the ban, saying that wada had not presented scientific proof that the drug can be used for doping. according to him, meldonium does not enhance athletic performance in any way, and was rather used by athletes to prevent damage to the heart and muscles caused by lack of oxygen during high-intensity exercise. he contended that not allowing athletes to take care of their health was a violation of their human rights, and that the decision aimed to remove eastern european athletes from competitions and his drug from the pharmaceutical market. liene kozlovska, the former head of the anti-doping department of the latvian sports medicine center, rejected claims that the ban is in violation of athletes' rights, saying that meldonium is dangerous in high doses, and should only be used under medical supervision to treat genuine health conditions. she also speculated that russian athletes may not have received adequate warnings that the drug was banned – due to the suspension of the russian anti-doping agency in late 2015. forbes reported that anesthesiology professor michael joyner, at the mayo clinic in rochester, minnesota, who studies how humans respond to physical and mental stress during exercise and other activities, told them that "evidence is lacking for many compounds believed to enhance athletic performance. its use has a sort of urban legend element and there is not much out there that it is clearly that effective. i would be shocked if this stuff had an effect greater than caffeine or creatine (a natural substance that, when taken as a supplement, is thought to enhance muscle mass)." ford vox, a u.s.-based physician specializing in rehabilitation medicine and a journalist reported "there's not much scientific support for its use as an athletic enhancer". don catlin, a long-time anti-doping expert and the scientific director of the banned substances control group (bscg) said "there's really no evidence that there's any performance enhancement from meldonium – zero percent". approval status meldonium, which is not approved by the fda in the united states, is registered and prescribed in latvia, russia, ukraine, georgia, kazakhstan, azerbaijan, belarus, uzbekistan, moldova, lithuania, albania, and kyrgyzstan. economics meldonium is manufactured by grindeks, a latvian pharmaceutical company, with offices in thirteen eastern european countries as a treatment for heart conditions. the company identifies it as one of their main products. it had sales of 65 million euros in 2013.