I’d guess there is some corruption or something non-standard about the original MP3 file. Depending on the decoder some software may ignore or get-around the problem…
You can try converting the file to WAV or FLAC before opening in Audacity. Try [u]Kabuu Audio Converter[/u] or [u]TAudioConverter[/u]. Most of these free tools use the same FFmpeg encoders/decoders as VLC so there’s a good chance that will work. VLC should also be able to do it but you’ll have to look-up how.
There is also a way of [u]making Audacity use FFmpeg[/u] and that might be worth a try.
Is the original file available online so we can look at and “play with” it? (Your attached file seems “technically OK” except for the audio distortion).
I have a tool called [u]MP3Diags[/u] that can diagnose, and often fix MP3s and you can experiment with that if you want. But it’s complicated with lots of information and lots of options and I usually end-up just blindly trying some of the repair options.