U.S. long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall stripped of national title after positive cannabis test
U.S. long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall was 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 penalties Tuesday, with the ban retroactive to the confirmation of a positive test from a sample collected Feb. 17. The sample was collected after Davis-Woodhall won the long jump title with a 6.99-meter jump at the indoor national championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
In a statement, USADA wrote that Davis-Woodhall's sample "tested positive for 11-nor-9-carboxy-tetrahydrocannabinol (Carboxy-THC) ... above the urinary Decision Limit of 180 ng/mL/."
Davis-Woodhall has already served the suspension, which started March 21. USADA wrote that she was issued a reduced suspension at the minimum allowed by the rules because her use of cannabis was not competition-related, and she completed a substance abuse program.
"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," USADA wrote.
The reduced penalty did not save her national title. USADA wrote that Davis-Woodhall was "disqualified from all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to February 17, 2023 ... including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes."
Davis-Woodhall's penalty follows sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson's high-profile ban during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo (which took place in 2021) following a positive test. Her suspension raised debate over why athletes are still suspended for a drug that has widely been decriminalized in the U.S. and doesn't enhance performance.
USADA acknowledged that debate in its statement Tuesday while deferring to rules set by the World Anti-Doping Agency.
"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," the statement reads.
As of Tuesday evening, Davis-Woodhall hadn't publicly addressed the suspension or posted on Twitter since it was announced. Per USADA, she "accepted a one-month period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation."
