USADA announced today that Hillary Tran, of San Bruno, Calif., an athlete in the sport of weightlifting, has accepted a one-year period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation. Tran, 28, tested positive for benzoylecgonine, a metabolite of cocaine, and d-methamphetamine as the result of an in-competition urine sample collected at the National Championship on July 3, 2021. Cocaine and d-methamphetamine are Non-Specified Substances in the class of Stimulants and prohibited in-competition under the USADA Protocol for Olympic and Paralympic Movement Testing, the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee National Anti-Doping Policy, and the International Weightlifting Federation Anti-Doping Rules, all of which have adopted the World Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Agency Prohibited List.

Tran established that her use of cocaine occurred out of competition and was unrelated to sport performance, and she went on to participate in a counseling program. While cocaine is considered a “Substance of Abuse” under the 2021 World Anti-Doping, the presence of d-methamphetamine in the athlete’s sample meant she could not qualify for a reduced sanction under the Substance of Abuse rule. However, USADA concluded that a reduction to the otherwise applicable two-year period of ineligibility for d-methamphetamine was appropriate because an extensive investigation found sufficient evidence that Tran was exposed to d-methamphetamine through a contaminated street drug.

Tran’s one-year period of ineligibility began on July 30, 2021, the date her provisional suspension was imposed. In addition, Tran has been disqualified from all competitive results obtained on and subsequent to July 3, 2021, the date her positive sample was collected, including forfeiture of any medals, points and prizes.

• This media release was published by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) on 28 October 2021. Click here for the original.