ROBLES Sarah Elizabeth

General
OVERCOMING SLEEP APNEA
She received treatment for sleep apnea in the early part of 2021, as she had found the condition had been affecting her performances. "My training was complete garbage. My body hurt all the time, I was having trouble thinking, and in every free minute of my time I was tucked in bed trying to sleep or just 'rest my eyes' until the next thing I had to do. No matter what I did with my diet, training, recovery, I was not getting better. I felt like my body just couldn't take it anymore. I knew there was something else going on. I sucked it up and got a sleep study done. I had so much fear and worse - shame that stopped me from submitting myself to testing. One fear was that if I knew I had sleep apnea, I would be afraid to sleep and would lose even more sleep. The sleep doctors and coaches were so nice throughout the process and everyone involved helped quench some fears of mine. After just one night on sleep treatment I felt better and I [felt] like this is going to be life-changing for the better." (Facebook page, 04 May 2021)

LEADERSHIP ROLE
She is making her third Olympic appearance at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, and hopes to use her experience to help her younger teammates. "I feel like I'm approachable and knowledgeable enough to help someone when they need it. If [the athletes] need any help, they can always ask. I'm always going to try to do the right thing for Team USA. [The younger athletes should] ask for help when you need it. It's OK to be nervous. Remember that you earned the right to be here. Take your responsibility of being a representative of the USA seriously and be a good example. 'USA' is the most important name on your singlet." (barbend.com, 19 May 2021)

SANCTION
In January 2014 she received a two-year ban [backdated from 08 August 2013 to 07 August 2015] from the United States Anti-Doping Agency [USADA] after testing positive for dehydroepiandrosterone [DHEA], testosterone, and pregnanediol. She said she used a supplement containing the substance on advice from doctors to treat polycystic ovary syndrome. (iwf.net, 01 May 2017; usada.org, 01 Jan 2017; insidethegames.biz, 15 Jan 2014)