• Coach says Kulizhnikov failed test for same drug as Sharapova • Kulizhnikov has won five world titles and holds 500m world record

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

What is meldonium and why did Maria Sharapova use it? Read more

The coach of the Russian world champion speed skater Pavel Kulizhnikov says the athlete has failed a doping test for meldonium, the same drug found in Maria Sharapova’s sample at the Australian Open.

The 21-year-old Kulizhnikov has won five world championship gold medals since the start of 2015. He is also world record-holder over 500m.

His coach, Dmitry Dorofeev, did not say when or where Kulizhnikov tested positive for meldonium, which has been on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s list of banned substances since 1 January.

He told Tass news agency Kulizhnikov had used meldonium while it was legal and “hasn’t been taking it for a year”. Kulizhnikov served a doping ban between 2012 and 2014 after a positive test for methylhexamine.