Erriyon Knighton, a top American track and field star, is cleared to compete at the Olympics after testing positive for a banned substance from eating oxtails.
Knighton’s Olympic dreams hung in the balance after he tested positive for the anabolic steroid trenbolone during an out-of-competition drug test on March 26. On April 12, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced that the sprinter would be provisionally suspended pending an investigation.
The 20-year-old 2023 World Championship 200-meter silver medalist was able to avoid being banned from the U.S. trials after the USADA arbitration panel ruled on June 19 that the positive test was caused by contaminated oxtails from a bakery in Florida.
The ruling cleared the way for Knighton, one of the brightest American track and field stars, to run at the U.S. Olympic trials.
The USADA supported the process’s outcome and said the organization did not make any exceptions in Knighton’s case.
“We did what the rules require us to do in all positive cases,” USADA CEO Travis Tygart said. “We can take comfort that justice was served and transparency as required by the rules was achieved.”
Upon narrowing down where the alleged contaminated meat was purchased, the USADA found the oxtail in question and tested it. The agency also spoke to a bakery employee and interviewed Knighton and some of his loved ones during the investigation to determine whether the meat was contaminated.
Trenbolone is widely used on beef cattle as a growth promoter in the United States, and it was found that Knighton had no knowledge that he was consuming beef from cattle that had been injected with the substance.
Knighton made the most of the opportunity by finishing the men’s 200 meter final at the trials in Eugene, Oregon, with his fastest time of his season. His 19.77-second finish put him in third place and meant he qualified to make the trip to Paris with Team USA in late July.
The Athletics Integrity Unit or the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) reserves the right to appeal the decision concerning Knighton’s eligibility. However, the runner’s legal team said they will not be caught off guard if either of those organizations decides to actually file an appeal.
“If there’s an appeal, we will obviously be prepared for it, as we were for this one,” attorney Howard Jacobs told Reuters.
Knighton reacted to learning he had been cleared to compete at the Olympic Trials after finishing third in the 200m race, saying he was relieved.
“I mean, in my heart, you know, I never did nothing wrong. I’ve always been a you, know a… good athlete. So, I’m going to be able to run and just be on my first one back out. You know it’s kind of a relief that I made the team. And you know, I’m always grateful to step on the track.”
Knighton’s case comes at a time when the relations between the U.S. and anti-doping agencies around the world are strained. As the Paris Olympics loom, more than a dozen Chinese swimmers remain tarnished by a doping scandal that American authorities say is clouded by a lack of transparency.
The swimmers tested positive for a banned heart medication trimetazidine in 2021, NBC reported. However, the athletes were ultimately given the green light to compete after investigation found that the positive test was the result of contamination.
The Chinese doping agency initially argued that the swimmers were inadvertently exposed “to the substance through contamination.” WADA then noted that it was “not in a position to disprove” the Chinese authorities’ determination. The USADA has complained that the Chinese positive tests were not made public until independent news organizations revealed them.
Knighton won a silver medal at the 2023 World Championships. He rose to prominence as a teenager in 2021 when he posted a 19.88-second finish at the Olympic Trials that year. Knighton’s time broke Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt’s world record in the under-20 category.
