Last night, a bombshell fell about rising track star, Sha’Carri Richardson. It was revealed that she failed a drug test and will not be allowed to participate in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics.
“I want to take responsibility for my actions,” Richardson said on TODAY on Friday. “I know what I did. I know what I’m supposed to do and am allowed not to do, and I still made that decision. I’m not making an excuse. I’m not looking for any empathy in my case.”
On Thursday night, a report first surfaced from the Jamaica Gleaner, a Jamaican-based publication, that Richardson had tested positive for a banned substance. While everyone waited for confirmation, the Enquirer’s Tyler Dragon reported that she tested positive for Marijuana.
As a result, the talented sprinter was hit with a one month suspension and is disqualified from running the 100m at the Games later this month. Sha’Carri accepted the one-month ban which was, according to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, retroactively dated back to June 28th.
While she’s out of the 100m, USA Track & Field hasn’t said whether she would be eligible to run the 4x100m.
Richardson noted that learning of her biological mother’s death was one of the reasons she ingested the drug, which is legal in Oregon where the Trials were taking place. But she wasn’t making any excuses.
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