MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) added meldonium to its banned substance list on January 1, 2016. In mid-April, WADA modified its rules to allow for below 1 microgram per milliliter of meldonium in samples submitted after March 1, and between 1 and 15 micrograms per milliliter in samples submitted before that date.
"If you are wondering, the meldonium content in Sasha Povtekin’s blood was 70 nanograms," Ryabinsky tweeted, adding later that "unfortunately, it seems that politics have intervened in boxing."
Ryabinsky told R-Sport earlier in the day, following sports media allegations of Povetkin testing positive for meldonium, that the samples contained residues of the substance that the boxer had used in September 2015.
The accusation, made by an Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) reporter citing two sources with knowledge of the tests but without disclosing the concentration level, put into question Povetkin’s World Boxing Championship heavyweight title fight with US boxer Deontay Wilder next Saturday.
World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman told R-Sport an official statement on the fight would come within 24 hours once the organization receives confirmation of the news.
