Back
18 August 2025
The ITA reports that a sample collected on 23 May 2025 during the 2025 ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup held in Poznan, Poland, from Levan Tatunashvili, a canoeist from Georgia, has returned an AAF¹ for the prohibited substance meldonium.
Meldonium is prohibited under the 2025 WADA Prohibited List as S4.4 Metabolic Modulators. It is a drug that reduces the transport of fatty acids, which improves efficiency of oxygen use during physical exertion. Meldonium is a non-specified substance prohibited at all times (in- and out-of-competition).
The athlete has been informed of the case and has the right to request the analysis of the B-sample.
If the B-sample analysis is requested and confirms the result of the A-sample, the case will be considered as a confirmed anti-doping rule violation. If the B-sample analysis is not requested, the case will also go ahead as a confirmed anti-doping rule violation. The athlete will have the opportunity to present his explanations for the result.
Further, in accordance with the World Anti-Doping Code and Article 7.4.1 of the ICF Anti-Doping Rules, a mandatory provisional suspension has been imposed on the athlete. The athlete has the right to challenge the provisional suspension and ask for its lifting.
Pursuant to the ICF’s delegation of its anti-doping program to the ITA, the prosecution of the case is being handled entirely by the ITA. Given that the case is underway, there will be no further comments made.
¹ A report from a WADA-accredited laboratory that, consistent with the International Standard for Laboratories, establishes in a sample the presence of a prohibited substance or its metabolites or markers or evidence of the use of a prohibited method.
