Because of a positive drug test, wrestler Stephany Lee will not be a part of the 2012 Olympic team in London. Ali Bernard has been nominated to replace Lee.
Lee, a freestyle wrestler who trains in Colorado, won the women's 72-kilogram weight class at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials in April in Iowa City, Iowa. After winning the tournament on April 21, 2012, Lee followed standard procedure and submitted a sample for drug testing.
That sample came back positive for tetrahydrocannabinol acid, which is a marijuana metabolite, according to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. The failed test is Lee's second -- she also tested positive for a marijuana metabolite in 2009 -- and Lee has forfeited her 2012 Olympic team spot and been banned from the sport for a year.
"I apologize to USA Wrestling, my teammates, my coaches and everyone who supported me for my mistake," Lee said in an official statement released by USADA. "I will continue to train, and hope to be able to represent my country at the 2016 Olympic Games."
Bernard, who went to college in Canada, finished second behind Lee at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials in April.
Bernard is no stranger to Olympic or international competition. The 26-year-old finished fifth in her weight class at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, and she earned a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships in Turkey. In fact, with her bronze-medal performance at the World Championships, Bernard actually qualified the U.S. for 2012 Olympic competition in the women's 72-kilogram weight class.
Bernard, a 26-year-old from New Ulm, Minn., also competed at the 2009 World Championships and was the 2003 and 2005 Junior World Champion, according to USA Wrestling. Bernard added a World University Championships title in 2012.
Sandra Johnson is a longtime wrestling fan. While working for the United States Olympic Committee, Johnson had the opportunity to live alongside the freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestlers at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Follow her on Twitter: @SandraJohnson46
