Michigan Swimmer Wyatt Davis Accepts Three-Month Ban for THC
Michigan swimmer Wyatt Davis has been suspended three months for a positive test for a THC metabolite by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.
Davis, 22, tested positive on June 30, 2023, at Phillips 66 Nationals. His results from that meet and any subsequent meets through the end of the year have been vacated. His suspension, announced Jan. 16 by USADA, is effective Jan. 2, 2024. It will still allow him to compete at U.S. Olympic Trials this summer.
Davis tested positive for a metabolite of THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient of cannabis and related products. Cannabinoids are prohibited in competition under the USADA and World Anti-Doping Agency protocols, as substances of abuse. Because they are not typically related to performance, USADA has advocated for WADA to draw back the severity of penalties to as low as one month for THC and other marijuana products.
Davis was handed a reduced sentence because the test was out of competition and cannabinoids are not classified as performance-enhancing. However, he violated the terms of his provisional suspension in the fall while the case was pending – by, USADA said, “participating in an activity authorized/organized by a Code signatory’s member organization” – which invalidated any time served from kicking in, hence the three months beginning in January.
Among the results vacated by Davis is a bronze medal from nationals in the men’s 50-meter backstroke, behind Justin Ress and Hunter Armstrong. He finished sixth in the men’s 100 back, 42nd in the 200 freestyle, 34th in the 100 butterfly and 18th in the 200 back.
At NCAAs last year, Davis finished 23rd in the 100 back and 34th in the 200 back as well as swimming on three Michigan relays in what was his junior year. He does not appear on the Wolverines’ roster this year in what should be his senior year. A native of Carmel, Indiana, Davis is Michigan’s 100 backstroke school record holder. He won a pair of Big Ten relay titles as a freshman in 2021.