Calalang refers to her drug test as a "false positive" in her statement, which isn't accurate based on the article, which states it was a legitimate positive test for 4-CPA. The way she eventually got her suspension overturned was by waiting for a "potential change in rules regarding 4-CPA in September". It's unclear if that potential rule change was in direct response to Calalang's case, or if USADA just happened to be reviewing this particular drug in September. If it's the latter, she's very fortunate that the timing worked out so well, otherwise the suspension may have affected her for years. To her credit, she & Brian continued to train as usual despite the uncertainty.
How was this kept a secret for 8 months? It should have been listed as the reason for C/J's withdrawal from Worlds. I could see why the parties involved wanted to hide it, I'm just very surprised they were allowed to, since a failed drug test usually becomes public quickly, and then you hear about the athlete appealing the suspension (nearly every athlete says they have no idea what happened). It led to a lot of wild speculation that could have been avoided if they had just been upfront from the start. The way their name kept disappearing from various lists (funding, assignments) with no explanation was so odd.
As an elite athlete, you have to be extremely careful what substances you put in/on your body, almost to the point of paranoia. Skaters should know that anything you put on your skin can be absorbed by your body just as well as if you ingest it. I would hope USFS & every governing body urges their athletes to constantly check ingredient labels. Calalang mentioned she has used these same products before so she was shocked to test positive, but ingredient lists are continuously changing. Literally every time you buy a new bottle of cream or whatever, you should double check the label and research any new ingredients.
If a cosmetic product can truly cause a positive drug test, this is very alarming. This is unheard of for a female athlete, and I would think every Team USA athlete should be notified of which product/brand this was immediately. The article doesn't specify was product Calalang was using or what type of substance it was (lotion, cream, powder). If this situation is as innocent as Calalang claims (she seems like a lovely person and I empathize with her, but the way they avoided mentioning what kind of product she actually used was odd), I hope all other athletes are notified about this product so that nobody else has to go through this.
C/J are fortunate that USADA cleared them to compete in July even though they were still technically suspended through Sept. This allowed them to at least be assigned the Skate America host pick, whereas the spot would have certainly went to someone else had they had to wait until the suspension was officially overturned. Even though it was a huge blow for them to miss Worlds again, this could have been much worse for them, so they lucked out overall. Let this be a reminder to all athletes to not put anything near your body unless you're absolutely certain what's in it.
apnews.com
