American long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall has been stripped of her recent national indoor title and suspended for one month after testing positive for cannabis, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced on Tuesday.
USADA said Davis-Woodhall tested positive for THC. Her positive test comes from a sample taken in competition at the 2023 United States Indoor Athletics Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 17, the same day she won the title with a jump from 6.99 meters.
Davis-Woodhall, 23, has already completed her suspension, which she began serving on March 21.
The positive test resulted in the loss of her title, as she was disqualified from all competition results achieved on and after February 17, including the removal of all medals, points and prizes.
Despite the growing legalization of cannabis in the United States and some sports leagues like the NBA or MMA that no longer screen for it, THC is still considered a prohibited substance according to the rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).
“WADA invites comments on the updated Prohibited List each year,” USADA’s press release reads. “USADA has advocated and will continue to advocate with the WADA, which sets the rules, for marijuana to be treated in a fairer and more effective manner to identify true competitive use. »
Under WADA rules, THC allows for a reduced three-month suspension if the athlete establishes that the substance was taken out of competition and is not related to athletic performance. USADA said Davis-Woodhall’s case was reduced to one month for these reasons and because she completed a substance abuse treatment program for her cannabis use.
In 2021, American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson clinched her spot at the Tokyo Olympics with a landslide victory in the women’s 100 meters at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, before being stripped of her title after testing positive for cannabis.
Richardson was suspended for a month. USA Track and Field elected not to select her to the women’s 4×100 meters relay team after her suspension ended, which removed Richardson from the Olympic team.
