Why didn’t Sha’Carri Richardson compete at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo?

There have been plenty of cases of athletes who have been tipped to be among the medals at the Olympics only to miss the Games at the last minute, whether due to injury or other unforeseen circumstances.

Sha’Carri Richardson, like a bat out of hell

One of the most recent high-profile cases was North American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson. In June 2021, she qualified for the Tokyo Games after winning the US Olympic trials 100m women’s final with a time of 10.86. A couple of months previously, at the Miramar Invitational she had clocked 10.72 - the sixth-fastest time ever recorded by a woman over short distance.

Everything seemed to be going to plan for the 21-year-old, who cut an unmistakable figure out on the track with her flame orange-dyed hair and bat wing eye lashes and had the attitude to go with it. “I am getting ready to change the game and I am as good as I say I am,” she claimed on social media.

But by the start of July, just three weeks before the Games were about to start, her world had turned upside down. Richardson tested positive for THC, the main psychoactive component found in marijuana and one of the substances on the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list. Richardson was hit with a one-month suspension.

A statement issued by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) read: “Richardson’s competitive results obtained on June 19, 2021, including her Olympic qualifying results at the Team Trials, have been disqualified, and she forfeits any medals, points, and prizes. Beyond the one-month sanction, athlete eligibility for the Tokyo Games is determined by the USOPC and/or USA Track & Field eligibility rules.”

Sha’Carri Richardson not making any excuses

The sprinter opened admitted that she had been smoking cannabis and accepted the consequences. “I just want to take responsibility for my actions, I know what I did, I know what I’m supposed to do, I’m allowed not to do and I still made that decision. I’m not making an excuse or looking for any empathy in my case,” she told NBC’s Today show at the time.

It later emerged that Sha’Carri had indirectly found out that her biological mother had recently passed away and her cannabis consumption was her way of dealing with the grief.

Three years on, things have turned around for the Dallas native - she was even honored by her hometown, who renamed John Kincaide Stadium after her back in November.

And she’s is back for the Paris Games, making her Olympic debut in the women’s 100m heats on Friday. She could also be involved in the 4x100m relay, which starts on 8 August. Having clocked 10.71 at this year’s trials and with a personal best of 10.65 set at last year’s World Championships, Sha’Carri is in with a strong chance of picking up a medal in Paris.