Madisyn Cox Finally Has Real Redemption With National Title (VIDEO)

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Madisyn Cox reacts after winning the 200 breast at the US National Championships. Photo Courtesy: Connor Trimble

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Last year, Madisyn Cox was not at nationals.

She was hundreds of miles away still trying to wrap her head around why she wasn’t there.

Cox was suspended her positive test for the banned substance trimetazidine on March 28, 2018 — a suspension that would eventually be overturned in August of 2018.

But it was too late.

Too late to send her back to nationals. Too late for her to have a shot at making the world championship team. Too late for redemption.

Or perhaps too early for redemption.

Cox earned a great deal of redemption on Thursday in her return to nationals, claiming the 200-meter breaststroke title at the 2019 Phillips 66 US National Championships in Palo Alto, California.

“It means the world. It feels good to have that hard work finally pay off,” Cox said. “It was more for the people who got me here. I am really proud of doing it for them. I was worried about (crumbling after the positive test). You never know how adversity is going to affect you. I was able to grow from it, learn from it, dig deeper because of it and be a stronger version of myself.”

Cox won the event in 2:23.84, more than two seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

“I was trying to go long and powerful and build into the race,” she said. “I wanted to build each 50 to finish as strong as I could.”

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Madisyn Cox; Photo Courtesy: Connor Trimble

Just being in the race was a victory after last year.

“Life is not fair. That is what I learned,” she said. “For everyone, that (unfairness) is going to be different. For me, it was the doping situation. I learned that I could wallow in my sadness or move on and be stronger.”

And more vigilant about what she puts in her body.

“I don’t even take anything anymore. No multi-vitamins or anything. Just pure water and good food,” she said.

Cox was exonerated nearly a year ago, but the purgatory that went with the initial suspension didn’t end until last week with the world championships. That meet was Cox’s goal heading into last year’s nationals — a goal she never got to attempt to achieve.

“I didn’t watch it, but I followed the results,” she said. “It was hard. (The times) kind of fueled me a little bit.”

Now that her purgatory is completely over, Cox is a national champion and finally able to truly move on.

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Kerri Carlton
4 years ago

Congratulations Madisyn!! ??

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