Two Russian athletes have proven that meldonium enters the body through milk.

Two Russian athletes who were found to have meldonium in their bodies were able to confirm that the substance had entered their bodies along with cow's milk. This was announced on August 9 by Valeria German, head of the Results Management Department of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA).

"We have had confirmed cases where athletes have tested positive for a substance such as mildronate. The athletes were able to prove that they consumed a large amount of milk, most likely from a cow that was injected with a veterinary drug containing meldonium," German said at an educational seminar.

She noted that in this way both athletes were able to officially avoid punishment for violating anti-doping rules. At the same time, such situations are very rare in RUSADA's practice, the expert admitted.

As Herman explained, before passing a doping test, an athlete must consume a large amount of unpasteurized milk, at least a liter per day.

"Next, this milk must be obtained from the cow that was injected with this drug (mildronate. — Ed.), despite the fact that, as a rule, sick cows receiving medicines are not milked. A whole chain of events should happen. At the same time, a very low concentration of meldonium was detected in the samples," she concluded.

Prior to that, on July 29, the RUSADA press service reported that Russian swimmer Alexander Yefimov was disqualified for four years for using meldonium. The period of ineligibility began on May 5 of this year and will end in May 2029. Efimov became the 52nd Russian athlete to be disqualified for using meldonium, Sport-Express clarified.

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