Track sensation Sha’Carri Richardson, 21, who was set to run in the women’s 100 meters competition at the Tokyo Olympics this month, will not be able to after she tested positive for marijuana.
Richardson won the women’s 100-meter race at the U.S. track and field trials in Oregon last month, which put her name in headlights all around the world.
Friday morning, the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced the positive test result and said that Richardson had accepted a suspension of one month, which started on Jue 28. It could clear her in time to run the 4×100 meter relay if she is named to the U.S. team.
NBC interviewed Richardson Friday morning, and she said that smoking marijuana was a way to cope with the unexpected death of her mother while she was in Oregon for the Olympic trials. She was raised by her grandmother, and she said she learned about the death from a reporter during an interview and called it triggering and “definitely nerve-shocking.”
It sent me into a state of emotional panic, Richardson said, adding, I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time.
Richardson also apologized to her family, friends, fans, and sponsors:
I greatly apologize if I let you guys down, and I did.
WATCH WHAT RICHARDSON SAID ON NBC BELOW:
Sha’Carri Richardson (@itskerrii) joins us live for an exclusive interview to discuss the positive marijuana test that’s put her Olympic future in limbo. pic.twitter.com/iVBp3zhvja
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 2, 2021
Other women who competed in the 100-meter final at the trials have been notified about Richardson’s failed drug test by the U.S.A. Track & Field. Several of those runners have been told that they have moved up a spot in the final standings.
Jeanna Prandini, who came in fourth place at the trials, has been notified that she will now be one of the three American women running the 100 in Tokyo.
Richardson will be eligible to return to competition just before the track and field events at the Games begin on July 30. That day’s schedule includes the first qualifying rounds in the women’s 100, an event that now will happen without her.
Thursday Richardson tweeted out that she was human, and she is, plus marijuana is LEGAL in Oregon, which is where she was when she consumed it.
I am human
— Sha’Carri Richardson (@itskerrii) July 1, 2021
The point of drug testing for the Olympics is supposed to be about fair competition, which means eliminating performance enhancement. Marijuana doesn’t make a sprinter faster.
#LETHERRUN
