Shelby Houlihan has been barred from prosecution after US officials reverse course

American sprinter Shelby Houlihan would not be eligible to run in the U.S. Olympic track and field after all, and hours after USA indicated that Houlihan would be allowed to run in the Olympic trials, despite the recent decision to endorse her for a four-year term. Banning decision for violating anti-doping rules, the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee stepped up Thursday night to clarify the matter. In a statement provided to USA TODAY Sports, USOPC CEO Sarah Hirschland said the USOPC, “along with USATF,” will comply. to WADA law and any rulings of the Court of Arbitration for Sport “governing the participation of athletes in sanctioned events.” Translation: Because Houlihan’s four-year ban has been upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, she will not be eligible to compete, despite previous USATF evidence to the contrary. The USOPC’s intervention came amid a protest from both the international anti-doping community and prominent US runners, that one runner had been banned for doping. He is still allowed to compete for a place on the Olympic team, and the Athletics Integrity Unit — which manages the anti-doping program for the international track and field governing body, World Athletics — released a statement Thursday saying it had contacted USATF about Houlihan. continent. He noted that the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision against Houlihan, announced on Tuesday, is “final and binding.” The unit explained that as a member of the World Association of Athletics Federations, the Latin American Football Federation, in managing its events, must respect and implement the hearing decisions. “Like the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) established under the Anti-Doping Rules for World Athletics, the AIU said in its statement. Houlihan, who holds the US records in both the 1500 and 5,000 metres, has tested positive for Houlihan. An anabolic steroid called Nandrolone in Dec. She has vehemently denied wrongdoing and believes she inadvertently ingested the steroid through pork in a burrito she bought from a food truck. Studies have found small amounts of nandrolone in pork offal and, in most cases, following up athletes who tested positive with performance-enhancing drugs first had a hearing before the AIU Disciplinary Committee but with the Olympic trials and the 2021 Tokyo Olympics fast approaching, Houlihan filed her appeal directly to The Court of Arbitration for Sport in Switzerland, which ruled against it and upheld its four-year ban. and 5,000m at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon, where the preliminary races are scheduled to begin on Friday. USATF spokeswoman Susan Hazard said in a statement earlier on Thursday that the organization would allow athletes in the midst of an “active appeal process” to continue competing. until the process is complete. But in Houlihan’s case, her only option left would be to appeal the CAS decision to a Swiss court, which amounts to Hill Mary’s legal standard.