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The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced Tuesday that U.S. long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall was being stripped of her national title won in February after a positive cannabis test.
“USADA announced today that Tara Davis-Woodhall, of Fayetteville, Arkansas, an athlete in the sport of track and field, has accepted a one-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation,” the press release said.
Davis-Woodhall already completed her one-month ban which began serving on March 21
While her suspension concluded last week, USADA has also disqualified all of Davis-Woodhall’s competitive results obtained on and subsequent to Feb. 17, which includes the forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.
She won the indoor national title earlier this year at the 2023 USA Track and Field indoor championships in New Mexico with a jump of 6.99 meters.
The ban and title strip is reminiscent of Sha’Carri Richardson, who tested positive at the Olympic trials in 2021 when she won the 100-meter race in a time of 10.86 seconds. Richardson’s 30-day suspension cost her the opportunity to compete in the 100-meter Olympic final.
THC is a special category of banned substance that allows for a three-month sanction if an athlete can establish their use of the substance occurred out of competition and was unrelated to sport performance. USADA said the sanction can be further reduced to one month if the athlete completes an approved treatment program.
World regulators are constantly updating the banned list and have increased the THC threshold for positive tests to fall more in line with pro sports leagues across the globe. But the World Anti-Doping Agency still classifies THC as a “substance of abuse” because it is frequently used outside the context of sport.