July 02, (THEWILL) – America’s fastest sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, a medal hopeful in the 100-meter dash at the upcoming Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan may have jeopardised her dreams of Olympic glory after failing a drug test on Thursday.
The 21-year-old athlete reportedly tested positive for a prohibited substance during last month’s Olympic Trials in the United States. It was during these trials that she outran her competitors to join Team USA bound for Japan.
Richardson purportedly tested positive for cannabis, or marijuana, which is an infringement that could result in a one- to three-month suspension. Such a suspension effectively disqualifies the sprinter from the Olympics as a whole, depending on the range of suspension she gets.
A simple 30-day suspension will allow her to still be able to meet and compete in the 4×100 relay at the Olympics for Team USA.
Richardson’s positive drug test comes shortly after it was confirmed that the American would not appear at the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Stockholm Diamond League on Sunday. It is a letdown for the 21-year-old, who had hoped to compete in the 200m event at the meet in Sweden.
There had been no official reaction from the athlete herself or her representatives and no explanations have been forthcoming on why she was absent from the Stockholm event. So far, only a vague and briefly worded tweet that simply read “I am human” has come from the official account of Richardson.
THEWILL recalls that the former Olympian Dennis Mitchell, who is Richardson’s coach, was himself involved in a doping scandal that led to a two-year ban slammed on him in 1998 by the IAAF. But when queried about working with a coach with that history, Richardson had shrugged it off saying: “Y’all don’t have to worry about any doping situations coming from me. I back him 1,000 per cent.”
THEWILL considers this particularly unfortunate for an athlete with so much promise and the strength of character to achieve goals in spite of odds. Last month, at the Olympic Trials, Richardson delivered a stunning performance to victory at the 100m dash which she finished in 10.64 seconds flat.
For someone who had just suffered the loss of her mother about a week prior, it demonstrated her ability to stay true to purpose while going through a storm. In her words during the Trials, she revealed how she handled it: “My family has kept me grounded.
“This year has been crazy for me. Going from just last week, losing my biological mother, and I’m still here … Last week, finding out my biological mother passed away and still choosing to pursue my dreams, still coming out here, still here to make the family that I do still have on this earth proud. And the fact [is] nobody knows what I go through.
“Everybody has struggles and I understand that, but y’all see me on this track and y’all see the poker face I put on, but nobody but them and my coach know what I go through on a day-to-day basis.”
In the event of her disqualification, her place in the 100m will be handed to the fourth-place finisher at trials, Jenna Prandini. In that case, the alternate in waiting will be Gabby Thomas, who finished fifth. A disqualification will present Richardson the option of an appeal to be given a chance to compete in Tokyo. If she will go down that route, it will be for her to decide.
Although cannabis is not on the same scale as performance enhancing drugs, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) considers it a “substance of abuse.” All cannabis-based products except for cannabidiol, or CBD, are on WADA’s 2021 Prohibited List and banned “in-competition” which the athletes understand.
Furthermore, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, and USA Track and Field adhere to WADA’s code and have, for a long time, been at the forefront of pursuing all forms of code violations in other countries with religious fervour especially, but not restricted to, Russia.
According to the statutes, maximum punishment for a positive test is a years-long suspension. However, the USADA rule covering the subject states: “if an athlete … establishes that their use of the substance occurred out of competition and was unrelated to sport performance, the athlete will receive a three-month sanction.
“If the athlete satisfactorily completes a Substance of Abuse treatment program approved by USADA, the sanction may be further reduced to one month.”
Richardson’s case could fall within a one-month suspension frame. If that turns out to be the case and it is backdated to the day of the positive test, Richardson could be reinstated in time for the women’s 100-meter heats in Tokyo on July 30 in the Track and Field period. However, because that test day occurred before the Trials, she will be retroactively disqualified and without the Trials, she does not qualify to compete in Tokyo.
Of the athletes heading to the Olympics qualified for the 100m dash, only one, Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price, has recorded a faster 100 time this year than Richardson. The 10.63 time of Fraser-Price, who is a two-time gold medalist in the 100m sprint, is just a fraction of a second off Richardson’s 10.64 clocked Trial time.
This made the possible competition for the fastest woman in the world between these two sprinters one of the most anticipated races at the Games, beginning July 23.
It is most likely not going to be as exciting in Richardson’s absence.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
