American runner Shelby Houlihan returned to the big stage after a much-debated four-year doping ban and won a silver medal in the 3,000 meters at the world indoor championships.
The U.S. record holder at 1,500 meters and former record holder in the 5,000 sat out the Paris Olympics because she tested positive after eating a burrito she claimed was tainted with a performance-enhancing drug. The 32-year-old runner said she was flooded with a range of emotions after her second-place finish Saturday.
“It's been a long journey,” Houlihan said in an interview with letsrun.com. “I'm excited for today and now, but also kind of grieving the past a bit. It’s just been a real tough journey.”
In the lead-up to Olympic trials in 2021, Houlihan revealed she had tested positive for nandralone and claimed it came from a tainted pork burrito she'd bought from a Mexican food truck. A slew of appeals ensued, but Houlihan's argument was ultimately rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Houlihan's case divided the track and anti-doping world, mainly because many elements of it were similar to “no fault” cases that often result in athletes receiving little or no penalty. Houlihan, whose case was prosecuted by the international Athletics Integrity Unit, received no such leniency and was forced to spend the prime of her career on the sideline.
After her second-place finish in Nanjing, China, she reflected on the journey that led to her comeback. She said her first year out of the sport was the most difficult.
“Getting used to completely trying to create a new normal,” Houlihan said. “Running had been part of my life since I was 5, so who am I without this? I didn't know. (I felt) totally crumbled and trying to rebuild myself back up.”
She said “a ton of anger” was driving her at the time, but she realized that was no way to move forward.
Houlihan said she's hopeful her success at the worlds in China might lead to her landing a sponsor. World outdoor championships are in September, when Houlihan could shape up to be a factor in the 1,500 or 5,000.
“It got to a point where I was just like, ‘I don’t want to give up because I feel like I'll always wonder what could have been,'” Houlihan said. “And then I feel like I still have more to prove. I feel like the best is yet to come for myself and I wanted to see that through and not let someone else decide.”
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
Shelby Houlihan, of the United States, poses on the podium after winning the silver medal in the women's 3000 meters at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
Shelby Houlihan, of the United States, competes in the women's 3000 meters final at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)
ST. LOUIS (AP) — World champions Ilia Malinin and the ice dance duo of Madison Chock and Evan Bates will anchor one of the strongest U.S. Figure Skating teams in history when they head to Italy for the Milan Cortina Olympics in less than a month.
Malinin, fresh off his fourth straight national title, will be the prohibitive favorite to follow in the footsteps of Nathan Chen by delivering another men's gold medal for the American squad when he steps on the ice at the Milano Ice Skating Arena.
Chock and Bates, who won their record-setting seventh U.S. title Saturday night, also will be among the Olympic favorites, as will world champion Alysa Liu and women's teammate Amber Glenn, fresh off her third consecutive national title.
U.S. Figure Skating announced its full squad of 16 athletes for the Winter Games during a made-for-TV celebration Sunday.
"I'm just so excited for the Olympic spirit, the Olympic environment," Malinin said. “Hopefully go for that Olympic gold.”
Malinin will be joined on the men's side by Andrew Torgashev, the all-or-nothing 24-year-old from Coral Springs, Florida, and Maxim Naumov, the 24-year-old from Simsbury, Connecticut, who fulfilled the hopes of his late parents by making the Olympic team.
Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova were returning from a talent camp in Kansas when their American Airlines flight collided with a military helicopter and crashed into the icy Potomac River in January 2025. One of the last conversations they had with their son was about what it would take for him to follow in their footsteps by becoming an Olympian.
“We absolutely did it,” Naumov said. “Every day, year after year, we talked about the Olympics. It means so much in our family. It's what I've been thinking about since I was 5 years old, before I even know what to think. I can't put this into words.”
Chock and Bates helped the Americans win team gold at the Beijing Games four years ago, but they finished fourth — one spot out of the medals — in the ice dance competition. They have hardly finished anywhere but first in the years since, winning three consecutive world championships and the gold medal at three straight Grand Prix Finals.
U.S. silver medalists Emilea Zingas and Vadym Kolesnik also made the dance team, as did the Canadian-born Christina Carreira, who became eligible for the Olympics in November when her American citizenship came through, and Anthony Ponomarenko.
Liu was picked for her second Olympic team after briefly retiring following the Beijing Games. She had been burned out by years of practice and competing, but stepping away seemed to rejuvenate the 20-year-old from Clovis, California, and she returned to win the first world title by an American since Kimmie Meissner stood atop the podium two decades ago.
Now, the avant-garde Liu will be trying to help the U.S. win its first women's medal since Sasha Cohen in Turin in 2006, and perhaps the first gold medal since Sarah Hughes triumphed four years earlier at the Salt Lake City Games.
Her biggest competition, besides a powerful Japanese contingent, could come from her own teammates: Glenn, a first-time Olympian, has been nearly unbeatable the past two years, while 18-year-old Isabeau Levito is a former world silver medalist.
"This was my goal and my dream and it just feels so special that it came true,” said Levito, whose mother is originally from Milan.
The two pairs spots went to Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea, the U.S. silver medalists, and the team of Emily Chan and Spencer Howe.
The top American pairs team, two-time reigning U.S. champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, were hoping that the Finnish-born Efimova would get her citizenship approved in time to compete in Italy. But despite efforts by the Skating Club of Boston, where they train, and the help of their U.S. senators, she did not receive her passport by the selection deadline.
“The importance and magnitude of selecting an Olympic team is one of the most important milestones in an athlete's life,” U.S. Figure Skating CEO Matt Farrell said, "and it has such an impact, and while there are sometimes rules, there is also a human element to this that we really have to take into account as we make decisions and what's best going forward from a selection process.
“Sometimes these aren't easy," Farrell said, “and this is not the fun part.”
The fun is just beginning, though, for the 16 athletes picked for the powerful American team.
AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Amber Glenn competes during the women's free skating competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Alysa Liu skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Maxim Naumov skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Madison Chock and Evan Bates skate during the "Making the Team" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Gold medalist Ilia Malinin arrives for the metal ceremony after the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
