Olympic Bronze Medalist Dominique Blake was banned from track and field for four years but now she is making her long awaited return. 

Blake won the bronze medal in the 4×400 meter dash for Jamaica, but for her, the unthinkable happened months later. Blake tested positive for a substance called Methylhexamine and was suspended for over four years. Blake said she didn’t even know what the substance was. 

“I had no idea what that was. We found out after testing that the product we ordered offline, the manufacture actually sent an old batch with one ingredient that was different. So one ingredient was different, once we presented this case, they said we don’t deem you as a cheater for this sport and we could understand how this could happen to anybody.” 

Blake accepted the fact that this hurdle was meant to be a part of her story.

“If you know that you’re putting your best foot forward you can throw your hands up at the end of the day and say you know what this is a part of the plan, God has a bigger story, and a bigger plan for me and this is a part of the journey.”

Even though Blake was banned from the sport she loved, it didn’t stop the passion she had for it. 

“I decided to not focus on, ‘Oh you’re removed from the sport for 4 years.’ I decided to focus on what I can do and as much as I can fit in those 4 years to be better for when I return.” 

During the four years Blake was banned, she decided to come train in Fayetteville since the University of Arkansas has the best indoor track facility in the world. She also decided to use her time to focus even more on her personal training business called ‘Diamond Training’.

In January, Blake made her return to the track at the Tyson Invitational in the 400 meter dash. She barely missed her personal best by two-tenths of a second.

Blake now has her eyes set on the ultimate prize: redemption at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. 

To see Blake’s journey to the 2020 Olympics, you can follow her on Twitter @DominiqueBlake and Instagram @DominiqueVBlack.