USADA- Tara Davis-Woodhall, Olympic Long Jumper Stripped Of National Title After Testing Positive For Marijuana
Davis-Woodhall won gold in the women’s long jump at the Indoor Track & Field Championships in February
U.S. Olympic long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall has been stripped of a national title and completed a one-month suspension after testing positive for THC earlier this year, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Tuesday.
Davis-Woodhall, who competed in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, won gold in the women’s long jump at the 2023 USA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque on Feb. 17 with a leap of 22-feet-11-inches.
However, after testing positive that same day for THC, Davis-Woodhall was found to be in violation of the World Anti-Doping Code.
“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 sport 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 sport performance, and because she successfully completed a substance of abuse treatment program regarding her use of cannabis.”
According to the USADA, Davis-Woodhall began her suspension on March 21, and she was also stripped of her national title.
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.
The USADA made an appeal to the World Anti-Doping Agency in Tuesday’s announcement regarding the use of marijuana.
“WADA seeks input on each year’s updated version of the Prohibited List. USADA has advocated and will continue to advocate to WADA, the rule maker, to treat marijuana in a fairer and more effective way to identify true in-competition use.”
Under the current rules, Cannabis, marijuana and hashish are all considered banned substances.
