Positive marijuana test costs US long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall national title

Colorado Springs, April 26

US Olympic long jumper Tara Davis-Woodhall served a one-month suspension and had her national indoor title stripped after testing positive earlier this year for the psychoactive compound found in marijuana.

The US Anti-Doping Agency announced the penalties on Tuesday for the 23-year-old out of University of Texas, who finished sixth at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Her ban concluded last week, but the penalty also includes the loss of the long jump title she won at indoor nationals shortly before the sample was collected on Feb. 17.

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 programme.

There was a fair amount of debate about whether marijuana should be on the banned list after the US Olympic trials in 2021, when 100-meter winner Sha’Carri Richardson had her title stripped and was banned from the Olympics due to a positive test.

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.