USA Today · Jul 6, 2016
Grace period for meldonium cases extended to Sept. 30
MONTREAL (AP) — The World Anti-Doping Agency has extended the period in which athletes testing positive for meldonium can escape sanctions.
Under WADA's new guidelines , athletes who test positive for a low concentration of meldonium between March 1 and Sept. 30 can be cleared based on a "no fault finding."
WADA extended a policy that had previously covered the period from Jan. 1-March 1.
The agency updated the rules following further studies which showed the drug takes much longer to be cleared from the system than previously thought.
The guidelines cover athletes who maintain they took meldonium before Jan. 1, the date the drug was officially placed on the banned list.