Madisyn Cox, a competitive swimmer and former bronze medalist of the U.S. National Swim, has filed suit against the Dallas-based Cooper Clinic for selling multivitamins containing a banned substance.
Originally from Lubbock, Texas, Cox moved to Austin to swim for the University of Texas in 2013. At the NCAA’s, she finished in 16th place, collecting her first Honorable Mention All-American honor. Her sophomore year she continued to excel, earning more honors and garnering her the title of Big-12 Swimmer of the Year.
Cox’s swimming career was on the rise when she hit an unexpected setback in the form of a 2-year suspension. This punishment was handed down by FINA, the sanctioning body for swimming and diving that performs routine drug tests. It was during one of these tests in 2018 that trace amounts of the banned substance trimetazidine was found in her system.
Trimetazidine is a drug used in some countries to treat angina, tinnitus and dizziness. But there’s been a lot of controversy surrounding its use, and it’s not approved for sale in the U.S. by the Food and Drug Administration.
When Cox learned the substance in her system, she immediately knew something was wrong. “It was: ‘you have the wrong person, this isn’t me. Go figure whatever y’all are doing wrong out, because it’s not me,” said Cox.
Initially, Cox thought she came in contact with the drug through tap water, an argument she used in front of the FINA panel which cut her ban in half. Later, she discovered the real source, Cooper Complete multivitamins, which were found to have four nanograms of Trimetazidine per tablet. Once Cox was able to produce multiple tested bottles of the pills to the panel, her ban was reduced to six months.
Cox had been taking the multivitamin for seven years to correct low levels of iron in her body. She even listed the supplement on doping-control forms and passed more than 20 drug tests previously without incident.
Although her suspension was reduced and Cox discovered the source of the banned substance, the damage had been done. “I really feel like I was on the up and up with my career and hitting a great stride, and this just knocked it off its rails,” said Cox.
The suspension was a hit to her reputation, sports career and financial reserves. Cox missed several major swimming events during her ban, including the 2018 U.S. Championships, needed to qualify for meets leading up to the 2020 Olympics. She also had to return grants and prizes from the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Swimming.
To clear her name and reduce her suspension, Cox used the World Anti-Doping Agency to test both a sealed and open bottle of the Cooper Complete multivitamin, both of which came back containing trimetazidine.
The Cooper Complete brand was developed in 1977 by Dr. Keeneth Cooper and a team of leading physicians and scientists. Their goal was to address common weaknesses found in supplements, including questionable purity and unproven results.
The brand has yet to receive notice of a lawsuit, saying, “When we learned about this issue we were stunned and angered and removed that vitamin immediately from our product line.” They went on to say, “We are saddened and disappointed for Madisyn Cox and the time she missed in competition.”
Cox, who recently graduated from the University of Texas, is pursuing this lawsuit while back in training and working on qualifying for the Olympics. “We … hope to force this company and this industry to do a better job in assuring the purity of their products and the proper labeling of each product’s ingredients,” says Cox’s attorney.
Part of what makes this setback so disappointing is the years of technical training the sport requires to get to Cox’s level. For a woman who recorded the fastest time in the world in the 200 IM, this incident can stunt her career in ways many can’t begin to fathom.
Madisyn Cox is a reminder that there needs to be more accountability from drug manufacturers. We can see from the opioid crisis alone that a lack of regulations has allowed mismanagement and deception to run rampant, something that ultimately only harms consumers.
Kate is a health and political journalist. You can subscribe to her blog, So Well, So Woman, to read more of her work and receive a free subscriber gift! https://sowellsowoman.com/about/subscribe/