On Friday, it emerged that US athlete Sha’Carri Richardson received a one-month ban after testing positive for marijuana, a punishment that will prevent her from taking part in the Tokyo Olympics.
The news comes as a bit of a blow to the sprinter, who last month won the 100m at the US Olympic trials. On top of that, in June this year, the 21-year-old had set the sixth fastest time of all time.
However, all of this athlete’s “work” has gone to waste as this controversial positive test has caused her qualifying result to be expunged.
Richardson has decided to give explanations and apologise to his country after this great disappointment: “Don’t judge me, because I am human, I just happen to run a little faster,” she told NBC’s Today show.
The American’s positive test came in the Olympic trials event, where she completed the course in 10.86 seconds.
Richardson explained that a week before the qualifying events, his mother passed away and he used marijuana as a means of coping.
“I apologise for the fact that I didn’t even know how to control my emotions or deal with that during that time,” she said on Friday.
The US Anti-Doping Agency announced that she have accepted the sanction, which was based on “a substance of abuse”.
