We’re sad to report this.
The U.S. Anti-doping agency announced today (Aug. 11) that U.S. cyclocross legend Katie Compton has accepted a four-year ban for a doping infraction.
According to the USADA report, Compton tested positive for an anabolic agent during an out-of-competition test taken on September 16, 2020. The test was analyzed using a Carbon Isotope Ratio test, according to the released document, which can differentiate anabolic androgenic stories naturally produced by the body from banned steroids of external origin.
Compton, who goes by the nickname Katie “Fucking” Compton, is the winningest rider in the history of U.S. Elite cyclocross, with 15 national titles to her name. She won a national title every year from 2004 through 2018, and again in 2019.
Compton is also winner of four silver medals at the UCI world cyclocross championships, as well as multiple World Cup wins.
Compton’s period of ineligibility has been started on September 16, 2020, the date that her sample was collected. She has also been disqualified from all results after that date, which includes her third-place at the Grand Prix of Nommay in France last year.
Compton said she will retire immediately. “It is with great stress and sorrow that I’ve ended my competitive career.
“Ending my career this way is simply soul-crushing. It physically hurts and makes me incredibly sad.
“This was devastating news to me as I have never intentionally or knowingly put anything like that into my body. I know how delicate women’s hormones are, and I would never choose to take anything to jeopardize my health and, as a result, suffer irreparable damage to my endocrine system. And not only that, I never took anything for ethical and moral reasons; I’ve been a strong proponent of clean sport my entire career and feel doing anything to enhance one’s own natural ability is cheating, full stop.”
Interesting article in Cycling News.
https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/why-katie-comptons-doping-case-is-so-shocking/
“The case is lose-lose for Compton’s fans and fellow athletes alike; she has either been lying about being against doping or she’s another victim of contamination in supplements or the industrial-farming food chain. Either way, there is no getting around the anti-doping system.”
I also would want to audit the test lab’s procedures, blanks, standards, chain of custody procedures, and quality control. And advise against eating anything raised using factory farming protocols. This whole story sounds like Katie is either not being totally forthright, or has been victimized somehow.
If I were the USADA, I’d want to get funded to do a study of various meat products available on the market to see how likely it is someone would get their carbon isotope ratio jacked around simply by a trip to the Golden Arches or similar.
https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/product-safety-information/steroid-hormone-implants-used-growth-food-producing-animals