Sha’Carri Richardson Out of Olympic 100-meter Race After Testing Positive for Marijuana / VIDEO
Dammit, Sha’Carri Richardson won’t be running in the Olympic 100-meter race. That’s because she tested after testing positive for a chemical found in marijuana.
On June 19, Richardson, who won the 100 at Olympic trials in 10.86 seconds, but was informed of of her ban Friday on the “Today Show” (watch below). At the Olympic trials her drug test came back positive which means her race win/result will be erased. Jenna Prandini, who came in fourth, is expected to get Richardson’s spot in the 100.
However, the Olympics won’t be a complete wash for Richardson, who accepted a 30-day suspension that ends July 27, which would be in time to run in the women’s relays.
Richardson, 21, was expected to compete with Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in one of the most highly anticipated races of the Olympic track meet.
On Thursday, as reports swirled about her possible marijuana use, Richardson put out a tweet that said, simply: “I am human.” On Friday, she went on TV and said she smoked marijuana as a way of coping with her mother’s recent death.
“I was definitely triggered and blinded by emotions, blinded by badness, and hurting, and hiding hurt,” she said on “Today.” “I know I can’t hide myself, so in some type of way, I was trying to hide my pain.”
Richardson had what could have been a three-month sanction reduced to one month because she participated in a counseling program.
As PBS News Hour notes, Richardson’s case is the latest in a number of doping-related embarrassments for U.S. track team. Among those banned for the Olympics are the reigning world champion at 100 meters, Christian Coleman, who is serving a suspension for missing tests, and the American record holder at 1,500 and 5,000 meters, Shelby Houlihan, who tested positive for a performance enhancer she blamed on tainted meat in a burrito. Also on Friday, defending Olympic 100-meter hurdles champion Brianna McNeal had a five-year ban for tampering or attempted tampering with the doping-control process upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
Now, Richardson is out as well, denying the Olympics of a much-hyped race and an electric personality. She ran at the trials with flowing orange hair and long fingernails.
“To put on a face and go out in front of the world and hide my pain, who am I to tell you how to cope when you’re dealing with pain and struggles you’ve never had to experience before?” Richardson said.
