Burrito Excuse Not Enough: Shelby Houlihan Banned Four Years After Testing Positive For Anabolic Steroid

We’ve heard an array of reasons from athletes as to why they have tested positive for banned substances over the years. From tainted B-12 shots to fertility drugs, athletes have been coming up with explanations for their positive tests for years. 

We now have a new one. A pork burrito. 

The American record holder in the 1,500 and 5,000 meters — Shelby Houlihan — revealed Monday that she has been banned for four years from competition after a positive test for the anabolic steroid nandrolone was upheld. 

Houlihan claims the results of the test more than likely come from the consumption of offal — pig organs — which she ate just hours before the test was administered. According to the National Library of Medicine, the consumption of pork can lead to high levels of nandrolone.

Houlihan appealed the ruling by the Athletics Integrity Unit who provisionally banned her in January, but was informed on Friday that the unit did not accept her explanation as to why the substance was in her system. 

On January 14th, 2021, I received an email from the Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU), informing me a drug testing sample that I provided on December 15th, 2020 has returned as an Adverse Analytical Finding for an anabolic steroid called Nandrolone and that I am therefore subject to an immediate Provisional Suspension. When I got that email, I had to read it over about ten times and google what it was that I had just tested positive for. I had never even heard of nandrolone. 

I have since learned that it has long been understood by WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) that eating pork can lead to a false positive for nandrolone, since certain types of pigs produce it naturally in high amounts. Pig organ meat (offal) has the highest levels of nandrolone. 

In the following 5 days after being notified, I put together a food log of everything that I consumed the week of that December 15th test. We concluded that the most likely explanation was a burrito purchased and consumed approximately 10 hours before that drug test from an authentic Mexican food truck that serves pig offal near my house in Beaverton, Oregon. 

The Athletics Integrity Unit (AIU) put out a statement on Twitter on Tuesday, confirming Houlihan’s ban. 

“The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the AIU’s charge and banned Shelby Houlihan of the USA for 4 years, starting 14 Jan 2021, for the Presence of a Nandrolone metabolite, a violation of World Athletics Anti-Doping Rules. 

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has upheld the AIU’s charge and banned Shelby Houlihan of the USA for 4 years, starting 14 Jan 2021, for the Presence of a Nandrolone metabolite, a violation of @WorldAthletics Anti-Doping Rules.
👁️⬇️https://t.co/cBkQOqSHT4
1/2 pic.twitter.com/fceWAkCZpD

— Athletics Integrity Unit (@aiu_athletics) June 15, 2021

The announcement comes before the start of the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon. The ban will not allow Houlihan to compete in the upcoming Tokyo Olympics or the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. 

Houlihan wrote that she passed a polygraph test and had a sample of her hair tested. 

“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 continued. “Nothing moved the lab from their initial snap decision. Instead, they simply concluded that I was a cheater and that a steroid was ingested orally, but not regularly. I believe my explanation fits the facts much better — because it’s true. I also believe it was dismissed without proper due process.”

According to ESPN, Houlihan broke the U.S. 5,000 meter record with a time of 14:23.92 last July and set the 1,500-meter record in October 2019 with a time of 3 minutes, 54.99 seconds. 

Houlihan continues to claim her innocence, saying she has “never taken any performance-enhancing substances” in her statement on Instagram. 

“I want to be very clear. I have never taken any performance-enhancing substances. And that includes that of which I am being accused,” Houlihan wrote. “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.”

Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].

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