Sha'Carri Richardson WILL miss the Tokyo Olympics: Sprinter is not selected for 4x100-metre relay team after accepting one-month ban for testing positive for cannabis
American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson will not participate in the Olympic Games this summer, as officials announced Tuesday that she has not been selected to represent the United States in the 4x100-metre rally.
The 21-year-old, who streaked to victory in the 100m at the U.S. Olympic trials in June, had previously been banned from the 100-metre dash after testing positive for marijuana use.
In a statement posted to Twitter, USA Track and Field said it has sympathy for Richardson, but it also has a responsibility to 'maintain fairness for all of the athletes.'
'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 said in the statement.
Following the announcement, Richardson tweeted: 'The attention that is on track now and was because of very, very few names. So if that’s where fans support lay, you can’t be mad at that.'
Sha'Carri Richardson, a sprinter, has been banned for 30 days after failing a drug test and will miss out on the 100-meter dash at the Tokyo Games
Richardson, center, earned first-place in the 100-meter final, beating Javianne Oliver and Teahna Daniels for the spot on the Track and Field team
She had established herself as a gold-medal contender by winning the 100-meter final in just 10.86 seconds last month
Richardson was expected to be one of the biggest draws at the upcoming Tokyo Games, which she will now miss out on.
Her supporters had hoped she could still compete in the relay event after the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) confirmed the suspension last week, as her suspension was scheduled to end before the 4x100-metre relay.
Reuters has previously reported that her test came back positive for marijuana use at the U.S. Olympic trials last month, where Richardson established herself as a gold medal contender by winning the 100m in 10.86 seconds.
Richardson, a sprinter, claims that she only used marijuana to help cope with the death of her biological mother before the trials in Oregon.
'I just say don't judge me because I am human,' she told NBC's Today Show on Friday. 'I'm you, I just happen to run a little faster.'
Richardson explained that she learned about her biological mother's passing from a reporter's question during an interview days before she established herself as a gold medal contender by winning the 100-meter dash in 10.86 seconds at the US Olympic Trials in Eugene, Oregon on June 19.
Afterwards, Richardson said she used marijuana in an 'emotional panic', leading to the failed drug test that was revealed after her 100-meter win.
'I knew I was having an interview,' she said Friday. 'I was just thinking it would be a normal interview. And then… to hear that information come from a complete stranger, I was definitely triggering, it was nerve shocking because it's just like, how are you to tell me that? And no offense against him at all. He was just doing his job. But definitely, that put me in a state of mind, in a state of emotional panic, if anything.'
But Richardson was not using her mother's death to excuse her decision. Marijuana is legal in Oregon, so she didn't break any law, but she did know the potential consequences of using the drug.
'I want to apologize for our actions,' she said. 'I know what I did. I know what I'm supposed to do. What I'm allowed not to do and I still made that decision. But [I'm] not making an excuse or looking for any empathy in my case.'
Richardson visibly celebrated her success at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Team Trials in Eugene, Oregon, but was soon found to have tested positive for marijuana use
Richardson is set to be replaced on Team USA by Jenna Prandini, who finished fourth in the 100 meter sprint that Richardson had won
Following the announcement that Richardson would not compete in the 4x100-metre relay, she tweeted that there has been more attention on the track team in recent weeks, and 'you can't be mad at that'
After she qualified for the games, Richardson said that her mom had died the week before. Details about the death of Richardson's mother have not been reported.
She said: '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...
'I'm highly grateful for them. Without them, there would be no me. Without my grandmother, there would be no Sha'Carri Richardson. My family is my everything, my everything until the day I'm done.'
'Y'all see me on this track, and y'all see the poker face that I put on, but nobody but them and my coach know what I go through on a day-to-day basis.'
Richardson's incredible athletic prowess saw her compared to iconic sprinter Florence 'Flo-Jo' Griffith-Joyner.
In a glowing profile published last month, Vogue favorably compared Richardson to Flo-Jo, and highlighted how the two star athletes even shared a penchant for long, lavishly-decorated fingernails.
Flo-Jo became an athletics megastar after winning gold in the 100m, 200m and relay at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
She died aged just 38 in September 1998 after suffering a massive epileptic seizure in her sleep.
Flo-Jo was also accused of using performance-enhancing drugs after a rapid improvement in her form ahead of the 1998 games, but passed all drug tests she took while competing.
Richardson's penchant for long, lavishly-decorated nails saw her compared to megastar Olympic sprinter Florence 'Flo-Jo' Griffith-Joyner, who won three gold medals at Seoul in 1988
Several politicians have since expressed their support for Richardson, who thanked her fans in a series of tweets over the weekend.
'The support my community I thank y'all, the negative forget y'all and enjoy the games because we all know it won't be the same,' she tweeted on July 4.
'I'm sorry, I can't be y'all Olympic Champ this year but I promise I'll be your World Champ next year.'
She added: 'All these perfect people that know how to live life, I'm glad I'm not one of them!'
Richardson also retweeted a post that reads: 'People talking about 'rules are rules' but half of y'all couldn't even abide by public health guidelines during a pandemic.'
Sha'Carri Richardson slammed the 'perfect people' commenting on her Olympic ban for weed in a series of tweets over the weekend
The tweet came after President Joe Biden addressed the suspension and said that it was proper for Richardson to be banned, but that he was 'really proud of the way she responded' to her ban after she appeared on the Today show and apologized.
'The rules are the rules, and everybody knows what the rules were going in. Whether they should remain that way or will is a totally different issue,' Biden told CBS News reporter Bo Erickson.
But others have not been so supportive of the decision by sport bosses, with infamous stoner Seth Rogen accusing Team USA of 'racism'.
The actor-comedian, a vocal advocate for marijuana who co-wrote and starred in the 2008 stoner film Pineapple Express, tweeted on Friday that 'the notion that weed is a problematic 'drug' is rooted in racism.'
Biden, pictured, said that 'the rules are the rules' while appearing to suggest that perhaps they should be changed in the future.
Seth Rogen, a vocal advocate for marijuana, tweeted his support of Richardson
'It's insane that Team USA would disqualify one of this country's most talented athletes over thinking that's rooted in hatred. It's something they should be ashamed of. Also if weed made you fast, I'd be FloJo,' Rogen, 38, said.
His comments mirror those of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who tweeted Friday: 'The criminalization and banning of cannabis is an instrument of racist and colonial policy. The IOC should reconsider its suspension of Ms. Richardson and any athletes penalized for cannabis use.'
Selma Blair also defended Richardson on Twitter, replying to Richardson's latest tweets, writing: 'Marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug. This is wrong and a shame. I am so sorry.'
Nike has also stood by the athlete, confirming on Friday the sportswear giant would be continuing its sponsorship of Richardson, which dates back to 2019.
'We appreciate Sha'Carri's honesty and accountability and will continue to support her through this time,' a spokesman said.
English Gardner and Aleia Hobbs, who finished just behind Richardson at the Olympic trials, will now round out the relay team.
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