Marijuana is costing track and field athletes big time lately.
U.S. long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall found out she was being suspended for one month and stripped of her indoor national title after a positive test for THC, the psychoactive compound found in cannabis.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced the sanctions this week, with the suspension going into effect as soon as it was determined that a sample taken on February 17th tested positive. After Davis-Woodhall won the long jump event in the indoor national championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a leap of 6.99 meters, a sample was taken.
“In the 2021 Code, THC is classified under a special category that allows for a reduced three-month sanction if the athlete establishes that their use of the substance occurred out-of-competition and was unrelated to sports performance. The sanction may be further reduced to one month if the athlete satisfactorily completes a treatment program approved by USADA,” the statement read.
“Davis-Woodhall’s period of ineligibility was reduced to one month because her use of cannabis occurred out-of-competition and was unrelated to sports performance, and because she successfully completed a substance of abuse treatment program regarding her use of cannabis.”
The debate surrounding the use of marijuana took center stage when at the U.S. Olympic trials in 2021, 100-meter winner Sha’Carri Richardson had her title stripped and was banned from the Olympics due to a positive test.
Under the current rules, Cannabis, marijuana, and hashish are all considered banned substances.
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Davis-Woodhall competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
In her early career, Davis-Woodhall attended the Agoura High School in California, where she set several records in the long jump and triple jump. In 2017, she won the CIF California State Championships in the long jump and triple jump.
She went on to compete for the University of Texas, where she won the NCAA outdoor championships in the long jump in 2018 and 2021. In 2021, she also won the NCAA indoor championships in the long jump and was named the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Women’s National Athlete of the Year.
Davis-Woodhall has also represented the United States in international competitions, winning a silver medal in the long jump at the 2021 World Athletics Indoor Championships.
This positive weed test is a huge blow to her career going forward.
