Sha’Carri Richardson reflects how the 2021 ban impacted on her and how she moved on from it.
Paris Olympic 4x100m relay champion Sha’Carri Richardson is a sprinter who does her talking on the track.
The American enjoyed a meteoric rise to the top, running 100m in 10.72 seconds ahead of Tokyo 2020, and looked set to compete for a medal, and a chance to deliver the United States’ first 100m women’s gold for more than 25 years.
Gabby Thomas 300m school record had stood for seven years but has now been broken by the fast-rising Canadian sprinter.
However, in July 2021, Richardson accepted a one-month ban for testing positive for cannabis during the Olympic trials the month previously. While it is now almost four years since the incident happened, Richardson remains remorseful about her actions.
“I know what I did, I know what I’m supposed to do, I’m allowed not to do it and I still made that decision. I’m not making an excuse or looking for any empathy in any case,” Richardson told The Independent.
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Olympic champion Noah Lyles previously bragged about why it was unthinkable of him losing the Olympics 100m final.
After being absent for most of 2022, the following year she was back competing with the best. At the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, Richardson triumphed in a field that contained Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson. Not only did she win gold, but Richardson set a new championship record of 10.65 seconds.
The reigning world champion won the 100m in the Diamond League Prefontaine Classic in May 2024, and while it wasn’t at her record speed, she recorded an impressive 10.83 seconds.
On June 22, 2024, Richardson defended her title as the US national champion in the 100-metre sprint event by winning the women’s 100m final in 10.71 seconds, qualifying for the Olympics in Paris, France, where she won the silver medal in the 100m.
Richardson is set to defend her world title in Tokyo and will rekindle her rivalry with Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred who snatched the Olympic gold.
