U.S. runner Shelby Houlihan earns silver medal in return to big stage after 4-year burrito ban
American runner Shelby Houlihan ran her first podium win in more than four years after returning to the big stage after a much-debated doping ban she blamed on a burrito.
The 32-year-old runner — who is the U.S. record holder in the 1,500 meters and former record holder in the 5,000 — won a silver medal in the 3,000 meters at the world indoor championships on Saturday.
"It's been a long journey," she told letsrun.com after her win. "I'm excited for today and now, but also kind of grieving the past a bit. It's just been a real tough journey."
Houlihan was forced to sit out of the Paris Olympics because she tested positive for performance-enhancing drug nandrolone during the lead-up to the Olympic trials in 2021. She claimed it came from a tainted pork burrito she'd bought from a Mexican food truck.
A slew of appeals ensued but Houlihan's argument was ultimately rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
"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 wrote in an Instagram post at the time.
Houlihan's case divided the track and anti-doping world, mainly because many elements of it were similar to "no fault" cases that often result in athletes receiving little or no penalty. Houlihan, whose case was prosecuted by the international Athletics Integrity Unit, received no such leniency and was forced to spend the prime of her career on the sideline.
After her second-place finish in Nanjing, China, she reflected on the journey that led to her comeback. She said her first year out of the sport was the most difficult.
"Getting used to completely trying to create a new normal," Houlihan said. "Running had been part of my life since I was 5, so who am I without this? I didn't know. (I felt) totally crumbled and trying to rebuild myself back up."
She said "a ton of anger" was driving her at the time, but she realized that was no way to move forward.
Houlihan said she's hopeful her success at the world championships in China might lead to her landing a sponsor. World outdoor championships are in September, when Houlihan could shape up to be a factor in the 1,500 or 5,000.
"It got to a point where I was just like, 'I don't want to give up because I feel like I'll always wonder what could have been,'" Houlihan said. "And then I feel like I still have more to prove. I feel like the best is yet to come for myself and I wanted to see that through and not let someone else decide."
