After testing positive for marijuana, American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who was expected to make a big splash at this month’s Olympics in Tokyo, may miss the competition.
Richardson, 21, won the U.S. track and field trials in Oregon last month in the women’s 100-meter sprint, but her victory in that major competition was immediately nullified by a positive test.
Richardson has agreed to a one-month punishment beginning on June 28 after the US Anti-Doping Agency revealed the positive test result on Friday morning. That might allow her to qualify for the 4×100-meter relay later in the Games, provided she is selected for the American squad.
In an interview with NBC on Friday, Richardson blamed the positive test on her use of marijuana as a way to cope with the unexpected death of her biological mother while she was in Oregon for the Olympic trials. Richardson, who was raised by her grandmother, 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,” she said, adding, “I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time.”
She apologized to her fans, her family and her sponsors, saying, “I greatly apologize if I let you guys down, and I did.”
U.S.A. Track & Field has notified other women who competed in the 100-meter final at the trials about the failed drug test, according to two people with direct knowledge of the information, and several runners have been told that they have moved up a spot in the final standings.
Jenna Prandini, who placed fourth at the trials, has been notified that she will now be one of the three American women running the 100 in Tokyo, and Gabby Thomas, who finished fifth at the trials, was named as an alternate for the race, the people said.
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.
