Shelby Houlihan has her doubts about the drug testing process in track and field. The controversial Olympian, who was banned from the sport for four years, will not condemn Ruth Chepngetich even though the Kenyan runner is widely considered one of the most obvious cheaters in the sport’s history.
Depending on who and what you believe, this could be considered one doper defending another.
Houlihan made her return to track and field at the beginning of the year. She was named as the American champion at 5,000 meters over the weekend and will represent the United States at Worlds.
Is a bad burrito to blame?
The 32-year-old middle distance runner ran at the Olympics in 2016. She was likely going to do so again in Paris.
However, Houlihan received a four-year ban from the sport in 2021 after testing positive for nandrolone. Nandrolone is an anabolic steroid considered an illegal substance by World Athletics.
Shelby Houlihan never admitted guilt. She denied intentional use of nandrolone. The suspicious result supposedly stemmed from the consumption of a contaminated burrito that contained pork organ meat.
Both of her appeals were denied. The Court of Arbitration for Sport rejected Houlihan’s excuse entirely, calling its probability “close to zero.” The Swiss Federal Tribunal also upheld her ban.
Shelby Houlihan is back.
The four-year ban was retroactively applied to Jan. 14, 2021. Houlihan was allowed to return to track and field at the beginning of this year after a lot of uncertainty about the future of her career.
She made her competitive return in February and qualified for the World Indoor Championships. She then went on to win her first global medal in the 3,000. It was a surprising result for someone who was not sure if she would ever compete again. And it does not seem like a fluke!
Houlihan ran the 5,000-meter event at the USATF Outdoor Championships over the weekend— and won.
The controversial middle-distance star will represent the United States at the World Outdoor Championships in Tokyo in September. A large portion of the track and field world, including Americans, are not thrilled with her triumphant and immediate return to the top because of her past.
Once a doper, always a doper— is the thought process.
Not so fast…
Not only did Shelby Houlihan win the national title, she offered a strong defense on behalf of Ruth Chepngetich. Chepngetich was recently suspended from the sport due to a suspicious drug test that found a high level of Hydrochlorothiaze in her urine.
Hydrochlorothiaze is a diuretic often used to mask the presence of other illegal substances. Any test that comes back with a number lower than 20 ng/mL is considered negative. Her test popped at an astonishing 3,800 ng/mL.
Athletes who tried to keep up with Chepngetich without the use of illegal substances are furious with the red flag result. The constant pressure to run as fast as an unclean athlete destroyed their bodies! They are calling for widespread change within track and field to avoid this problem moving forward.
Houlihan is not as quick to chastise Ruth Chepngetich as she might’ve been in the past.
“I think before all of this happened, I probably would’ve been like everyone else,” Houlihan said. “Now, when I see something like that, I don’t know what to believe.”
Her experience with the “tainted burrito” changed her entire opinion on the anti-doping authorities and the drug testing process.
“I don’t trust the anti-doping agencies either.” she added. “I saw firsthand how things actually operate…It’s a hard topic. I don’t know what to believe at this point, whether that’s the anti-doping agencies or the athletes?”
There you have it! Houlihan maintains her innocence and will not condemn Ruth Chepngetich.
Track and field fans, athletes and pundits alike are not going to like her answer. She doesn’t care.
Shelby Houlihan served her ban. On to the next.