Olympian's life has been ruined after Walmart incident involving asparagus and ham

An Olympian athlete has stated that her life has been 'ruined' after losing her job and claiming her reputation has been 'irreparably damaged' after her arrest which had been led from her forgetting to scan ham and asparagus at a Walmart .

Canadian athlete Meaggan Pettipiece, 48, who had represented the nation in softball at the 2000 Sydney Games and was an alternate for the 2004 Olympic team, was arrested on March 28 in Indiana for theft, possession of marijuana and possession of a controlled substance after she allegedly failed to scan the items during a grocery shop - before police found three disposable vapes and two unopened blister packs of anti-nausea medication Zofran in her handbag.

It was later found that the vapes did not contain marijuana or THC, and the anti-nausea medication was prescribed to her assistant coach as they had been together and she had forgotten to pick it back up.

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The charges were since dropped against Pettipiece, but the former Olympian athlete had lost her job as head coach of the NCAA Division 1 softball team at Valparaiso University in Indiana.

Speaking to the National Post , Pettipiece said: "It is bittersweet. I'm happy, obviously, the charges were dismissed. But the sad part is the damage it did to my career. It has changed everything in my life. It's been five months, a living nightmare. I lost my career, I lost my job, the life I was building and it's been really difficult."

The D1 head coach had paid for all of the other items, paying $167 at the Walmart before police discovered that $67 worth of items, which had included a quantity of ham and asparagus, had not been paid for.

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Pettipiece had stated that she was totally unaware that the items had not scanned, and that she did not find the price strange when she had paid.

After she was arrested, her vehicle was searched where the vapes and medication were found, with her assistant, who the medication was prescribed to, stating that they had forgotten it was there.

Pettipiece is now without a team after resigning on April 1 after going through legal proceedings, stating she is thankful to those who stuck by her.

She said: "The softball community is a tightknit group and it (the news) went through like wildfire. You really do learn who the people are that really believe in you and trust you and are truly a friend for you."