U.S. star Sha’Carri Richardson to miss Olympics after being left off 4x100 relay team
American sprinter and track and field phenomenon Sha’Carri Richardson’s Olympic dreams have come to a screeching halt.
Richardson was already out of her main event – the 100-meter dash – after accepting a one-month ban for testing positive for THC, the chemical found in marijuana.
But she still could have been selected as a member of the 4x100 relay team, and seeing as how she won the 100 meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June, it seemed like a good bet she would earn one of the two available spots. But that option also ended up being off the table when USA Track & Field announced its full roster on Tuesday and Richardson was not included.
USATF released a statement explaining its reasoning to move forward with this decision, stating that while it agreed that THC should be reconsidered as a banned substance, this was about integrity.
"While USATF fully agrees that the merit of the World Anti-Doping Agency rules related to THC should be reevaluated, it would be detrimental to the integrity of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Track & Field if USATF amended its policies following competition, only weeks before the Olympic Games," the organization stated.
With Tuesday's announcement from USATF, Richardson will now have to wait until 2024 to get her shot at Olympic glory.
Richardson was considered a gold medal contender in the 100 meters, but her positive test came at the U.S. Trials on June 19, per The Athletic.
On Friday, July 2, the United States Anti-Doping Agency shared that Richardson’s suspension began June 28 and was reduced from three months to one month because her use of cannabis occurred out of competition and was unrelated to her performance at the trials.
Despite this, her results from the trials were disqualified, and she forfeited any medals, points and prizes. Richardson also completed a counseling program regarding her use of cannabis, per the USADA.
On that same Friday, Richardson joined "TODAY," where she revealed that she ingested the drug in an effort to deal with the death of her biological mother, who died a week before the trials.
Richardson said she found out about her mother's death from a complete stranger in an interview, which was "triggering" and "nerve-shocking" and sent her into "a state of emotional panic," per TODAY.
"I want to take responsibility for my actions," she told host Savannah Guthrie. "[I’m] not making an excuse or looking for any empathy in my case, but just, however, being in that position in my life, finding out something like that, something that I would say is probably one of the biggest things that [has] impacted me … that definitely was a very heavy topic on me.
"And people don’t understand what it’s like to have to … go in front of the world and put on a face and hide my pain. Who am I to tell you how to cope when you’re dealing with the pain or you’re dealing with a struggle that you haven’t experienced before or that you thought you never would have to deal with?"
Guthrie pointed out that marijuana is legal in the trials' location – Oregon – where Richardson ingested the drug but that it is nonetheless prohibited under Olympic rules.
"I apologize," Richardson added. "As much as I’m disappointed, I know that when I step on the track, I don’t represent myself. I represent a community that has shown me great support, great love, and I failed y’all. So I apologize for the fact that I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time."
"Right now I'm just putting all of my time and energy into dealing with what I need to deal with to heal myself," she said. "If I'm allowed to receive that blessing, then I'm grateful for it. But if not, right now, I'm just going to focus on myself.
"Don’t judge me because I am human. I’m you. I just happen to run a little faster."
