‘I never did anything flawed’: US track and field star’s Olympic dreams almost dashed after failing drug test over tainted oxtails

Erriyon Knighton, a top American track and field star, was cleared to compete within the Olympic Games after being found to have tested positive for a banned substance derived from eating oxtails.

Knighton’s Olympic dreams were up within the air when he tested positive for the anabolic steroid trenbolone in an out-of-competition drug test on March 26. On April 12, the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that the sprinter can be provisionally suspended pending the final result of an investigation.

The 20-year-old 2023 World Championships silver medalist within the 200 meters avoided being barred from U.S. testing after a USADA arbitration panel ruled June 19 that contaminated oxtails from a Florida bakery were the explanation for his positive test.

The ruling cleared the way in which for Knighton, considered one of the brightest stars in American track and field, to compete within the U.S. Olympic qualifiers.

USADA supported the final result of the lawsuit and said the organization made no exceptions in Knighton’s case.

“We did what the regulations require us to do in every positive case,” USADA CEO Travis Tygart he said“We can rest assured that justice has been done and the transparency required by law has been achieved.”

After narrowing down where the allegedly contaminated meat was purchased, USADA found the oxtail and tested it. The agency also spoke with a bakery worker and interviewed Knighton and a few of his relatives throughout the investigation to find out whether the meat was contaminated.

Trenbolone is often utilized in the United States as a growth stimulant in beef cattle. It was discovered that Knighton was unaware that he was consuming beef from cattle that had been injected with the substance.

Knighton seized the chance, ending the boys’s 200-meter final on the trials in Eugene, Oregon, with a season-best time of 19.77 seconds, good for third place and qualifying for a visit to Paris with Team USA in late July.

The Athletics Integrity Unit or the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reserve the precise to appeal Knighton’s eligibility decision, however the runner’s legal team said they might not be surprised if either organization decided to appeal.

“If there is an appeal, of course we will be prepared for it, just as we were prepared for it in this case,” attorney Howard Jacobs said. he told Reuters.

Knighton, upon learning he had been cleared to compete within the Olympic trials after ending third within the 200-meter race, said he felt relieved.

“I mean, deep down, you know, I’ve never done anything wrong. I’ve always been, you know, a good athlete. So I’ll be able to run and I’ll just be on my first comeback. You know, it’s such a relief that I made the team. And, you know, I’m always grateful to be able to get on the track.”

Knighton’s case comes at a time when relations between the U.S. and anti-doping agencies around the globe are strained. As the Paris Olympics approach, greater than a dozen Chinese swimmers remain tarnished by a doping scandal that U.S. officials say is clouded by an absence of transparency.

Swimmers in 2021 were found to have the banned heart drug trimetazidine, NBC reported. However, the athletes were eventually given the green light to compete after an investigation found the positive test was the results of contamination.

China’s anti-doping agency initially argued that the swimmers were unknowingly exposed to the substance “through contamination.” World Anti-Doping Agency then noted that he was “unable to overturn” the Chinese authorities’ determination. USADA complained that the positive Chinese test results weren’t publicly disclosed until independent news organizations revealed them.

Knighton won a silver medal on the 2023 World Championships. He rose to fame as an adolescent in 2021 when he clocked 19.88 seconds on the Olympic qualifiers that very same yr. Knighton’s time broke Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s world record within the under-20 category.