Track and field superstar Sha’Carri Richardson will not debut as an Olympic athlete this year.
On Tuesday, USA Track & Field released the official U.S. Olympic Team roster for this year’s Tokyo Summer Olympic Games. Richardson’s name was not included on the list for the 4×100 relay, the only race in which she could have been eligible to compete since testing positive for THC, a chemical compound contained in marijuana.
Richardson broke records last month with her 10.86-second time in the women’s 100-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Oregon, marking her the fastest living track and field female athlete in America. Though due to her failed drug test administered by the United States Anti-Doping Agency, she was placed on a monthlong provisional suspension from competition valid as of June 28, officially risking the nullification of her Olympic-qualifying stats from the Oregon trials, as well as those of any subsequent races in Tokyo, should she have been officially named on the roster.
Last Friday, Richardson shared with NBC’s Today show that while she understood the protocols of the competition, she was also mourning the death of her mother—whose passing occurred shortly prior to her record-breaking race—and struggled for ways to cope. “It sent me into a state of emotional panic,” she said. “I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time.”
Source: Read Full Article