Abby Raymond | Clean Sport Testimony on Risky Supplements

My name is Abby Raymond and I’m a 15 year old U.S. Olympic Weightlifter, and I used to be a gymnast, so when I stopped doing that I got into Crossfit, and then Crossfit is what took me to weightlifting. I really wanted to pursue weightlifting at an elite level because I just loved everything about it and I had that gut feeling that it was what I was supposed to be doing. When I started competing at the elite level, supplements were a part of my nutrition plan. I took a protein powder and a pre-workout. I got in touch with a family friend because they had just started their own supplement company, and they introduced me to their products and asked if I wanted to try it. And me and my dad even explained to them that I was randomly drug tested by USADA, and they kind of laughed and just shook it off and said I would have nothing to worry about with their products. At the time, I knew that there was always a risk with using supplements, but because I was guaranteed that I wouldn’t have a problem with their products, I thought it would be O.K. to use.

About three weeks after I started using the products, I was drug tested for the first time. USADA came to my house after I got done working out, and I was kind of excited but a little nervous too, because I didn’t really know what to expect, but, then again, I felt kind of honored that they wanted to test me. And then I just went on training for a couple weeks after, because I was training for the American Open. And I ended up going there and I had a really good meet. I think I went five for six and broke two American records, so I was pretty excited, and I took second, overall.

But then, the day after I competed, I got a call from USADA saying that I tested positive for a drug called Ostarine. And I was really, really confused when I first heard that. And I didn’t really know what I should have been feeling. And my family was really confused, too. It was just a whole bunch of, like, chaos, I guess. I don’t know, because we didn’t know where we should go from here. And I remember I just cried that whole night, because I couldn’t believe that this had happened and I didn’t know how it had happened. And I just kept asking the questions over and over again, like, how and why. And then we got the products I was taking tested, and when they came back positive, it was really difficult to hear that. We called the owners right away. Even the owners, they didn’t know where it was being made, where it happened. So I think it was just an accident for everybody. Knowing that the supplement that was contaminated came from somebody that I trusted, it showed me that even if you trust the person, you can’t always trust the product.

I started to accept the situation more and I made peace with it, almost. Like it happened and I’m a strong believer that things happen for a reason. And I didn’t know the reason at the time, I think this is the reason now, so I can help other people and help them not to make the same mistake I did.