ecord-setting runner Shelby Houlihan will not be going to the Olympics this year after all, and possibly not even in 2024.
On Monday night, news broke that Houlihan, a Sioux City native and graduate of East High School, had tested positive for the banned substance Nandrolone, an anabolic steroid, and has been banned from competition for four years.
She also will not be running at the Olympic Trials this upcoming week in Oregon. She was slated to the 800-meter run and the 5,000.
Chris Chavez of Sports Illustrated broke the news on Twitter, reporting that Houlihan first failed the test back in December, and has spent the months since trying to prove her innocence.
In a statement posted to her personal Instagram page, Houlihan said that she believes that the substance came from a burrito that she purchased from a food truck near her home in Beaverton, Oregon.
In her statement, Houlihan noted that the World Anti-Doping Agency has said that eating pork can lead to a false positive of Nandrolone. Houlihan also claims that she purchased and consumed the burrito roughly 10 hours before taking the drug test.
"Although my levels were consistent with those of subjects in studies who were tested 10 hours after eating this source and WADA technical guidelines require the lab to consider it when analyzing nandrolone, the lab never accounted for this possibility," Houlihan said in her statement. "They could have reported this as an atypical finding and followed up with further testing. The anti-doping experts I have reached out to say they should have.
"I did everything I could to prove my innocence. I passed a polygraph test. I had my hair sampled by one of the world’s foremost toxicologists. WADA agreed that test proved that there was no build up of this substance in my body, which there would have been if I were taking it regularly."
Houlihan also said that the lab refused to move from its initial decision, and had concluded that Houlihan had taken the steroid orally, but not on a regular basis.
"I believe my explanation fits the facts much better -- because it’s true. I also believe it was dismissed without proper due process," Houlihan said in her Instagram post.
On June 11, Houlihan says, she received word that the Court of Arbitration for Sport had not accepted her explanation, and that she is banned from competition for four years.
If the suspension holds, it would cause her to not only miss this year's Tokyo Olympics, but the 2024 Paris Olympics as well.
"I feel completely devastated, lost, broken, angry, confused and betrayed by the very sport that I’ve loved and poured myself into just to see how good I was," Houlihan's statement continued. "I want to be very clear. I have never taken any performance enhancing substances. And that includes that of which I am being accused.
"I believe in the sport and pushing your body to the limit just to see where the limit is. I’m not interested in cheating. I don’t do this for the accolades, money, or for people to know my name. I do this because I love it. I have so much fun doing it and it’s always the best part of my day."
Houlihan was a standout athlete at East High School, where she was named the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year in both 2010 and 2011 in track and cross country. She also captured eight Drake Relays titles in her time as a Black Raider.
In college at Arizona State, Houlihan captured the 2014 1500-meter NCAA championship, the first such title in school history, and was a 12-time All-American.
After turning pro in 2015, Houlihan joined the Bowerman Track Club and Nike, eventually qualifying for the 2016 Olympic Games, where she placed 11th in the 5000m final.
In 2019, Houlihan set an American record in the 1500m run at the World Outdoor Championships, with a time of 3:54.99, and set the 5000m American record with a time of 14:23.92 in 2020.
In 2017, Sioux City honored Houlihan by naming a street in her honor. A road just a few blocks from East High School is now called "Houlihan Run."
Coach Jerry Schumacher of the Bowerman Track Club also posted a statement on Instagram, stating his belief in Houlihan's innocence.
"Throughout this process we were confident that the truth would lead to justice. What I've come to learn instead is that anti-doping authorities are okay with convicting innocent athletes so long as nine of ten convictions are legitimate. That is wrong..." Schumacher said, in part.
"What we are witnessing here is a great tragedy in the history of American distance running. Not only is Shelby an exceptionally talented athlete, but she has also developed her talent through hard work and discipline."
Houlihan said that she will continue to try to prove herself innocent.
"I have always wanted to be able to stand at the top of that Olympic podium with a gold medal around my neck knowing that I did that. Now, I’m not sure I’ll ever get the opportunity to truly pursue that dream.
"I’m going to continue fighting to prove my innocence. I will not sit down and accept a four year ban for something that I did not and would never do."
Sioux City native Shelby Houlihan tests positive for banned substance, denies allegations
Former Olympian Shelby Houlihan's lawyer believes that she has been wronged.
