Shawn Barber almost threw his dreams of competing in the Olympics away after hooking up with a random girl he met off Craigslist. The Canadian pole vaulter was just looking to “de-stress” a few weeks before the Olympic games and wound up having a fun night out with the woman. He then wound up testing positive for cocaine and his trip to Rio was in jeopardy but the governing body of Canadian track & field determined he didn’t commit any violations because it was the woman’s fault that he tested positive.
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The court determined Barber, 22, ingested the cocaine from kissing a woman whom he had met on Craiglist and invited to his room. The woman testified that she consumed cocaine just before meeting Barber and, without telling him, took some more in the bathroom of his hotel room during a break in the action.
Based on the world anti-doping code, the Canadian Center of Ethics in sport wanted to suspend Barber for 4 years. After both he and the woman testified however, Barber was cleared as they said he inadvertently ingested the drugs.
The woman Barber hooked up with, who also admitted to drinking a 26-ounce bottle of vodka that night and another four to five drinks, said she felt “horrible about what happened” and did not want to be the reason for keeping Barber from competing.
Barber didn’t fare too well in the Rio games, finishing in 10th place but after all that, he was just happy he was allowed to go.
