Shelby Houlihan, former US Olympic runner, back on podium 4 years after tainted burrito controversy led to ban

Shelby Houlihan, an American Olympic runner who competed astatine the 2016 Rio Games and aboriginal faced a hotly debated four-year ban, was backmost connected the podium connected Saturday.

Houlihan won a metallic medal astatine the World Indoor Championships successful the 3,000-meter lawsuit successful Nanjing, China. She was incapable to vie successful the Tokyo Olympics and the Paris Olympics due to the fact that she tested affirmative for a performance-enhancing drug. Houlihan claimed astatine the clip the affirmative trial was a effect of a tainted pork burrito she bought from a Mexican nutrient truck.

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Shelby Houlihan, of the United States, competes successful the women's 3000 meters last astatine the World Athletics Indoor Championships successful Nanjing, China, connected Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

"It’s been a agelong journey," she told Let’s Run. "I'm excited for contiguous and now, but besides benignant of grieving the past a bit. It’s conscionable been a existent pugnacious journey."

Houlihan is the U.S. grounds holder astatine 1,500 meters and the erstwhile grounds holder successful the 5,000-meter event. Her 2021 entreaty of her prohibition was moved to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but was yet rejected.

However, the lawsuit kicked disconnected a statement successful the athletics and anti-doping satellite arsenic the elements were akin to different "no fault" cases that resulted successful small oregon nary penalty. 

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Shelby Houlihan, right, and Nikki Hiltz pb the women's 3,000m during the USATF Indoor Championships astatine Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex successful Staten Island, New York, connected Feb. 22, 2025. (Kirby Lee-Imagn Images)

Houlihan’s punishment yet outgo her a travel to Paris for the Olympics and she present has to enactment doubly arsenic hard to get acceptable for a imaginable quality successful Los Angeles successful 2028.

"Getting utilized to wholly trying to make a caller normal," Houlihan said. "Running had been portion of my beingness since I was 5, truthful who americium I without this? I didn't know. (I felt) wholly crumbled and trying to rebuild myself backmost up."

The 32-year-old Iowa autochthonal said she hoped her occurrence could pb to a sponsor. The satellite outdoor championships are acceptable for September.

"It got to a constituent wherever I was conscionable like, ‘I don’t privation to springiness up due to the fact that I consciousness similar I'll ever wonderment what could person been,'" she said. "And past I consciousness similar I inactive person much to prove. I consciousness similar the champion is yet to travel for myself and I wanted to spot that done and not fto idiosyncratic other decide."

Shelby Houlihan poses with her medal aft winning the women's 3,000m successful 8:52.03 during the USATF Indoor Championships astatine Albuquerque Convention Center successful Albuquerque, New Mexico, connected Feb. 14, 2020. (Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports)

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Houlihan was eligible to vie again successful January and made her instrumentality to the way past period astatine the Razorback Invitational successful Arkansas. She won the indoor 3,000-meter race.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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