U.S. Olympic hopeful Sha’Carri Richardson’s fate at the Tokyo Olympics is in jeopardy after she tested positive for THC, the chemical in marijuana. The sprinter, 21, won the 100-meter race at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on June 19 in Eugene, Oregon. The positive test result, however, could invalidate her victory and lead to a 30-day or longer suspension.
Richardson’s lawyer confirmed the positive test to NBC News, with a U.S. Olympic source telling the outlet the sprinter failed a drug test following her win in the 100-meter race. Her results from the trials automatically disqualified her after testing positive, prohibiting her from competing in the 100 meters, though there is still a slim chance that she could compete in another event. CBS News notes that a 30-day suspension could end before the start of competition in the 4×100-meter relay, which she was expected to run at the Tokyo Games. According to a source who spoke to Reuters, which was among the first outlets to report the news, Jenna Prandini, who finished fourth in the final, has already been approached to run for the U.S. in the 100m in Tokyo. This, however, has not yet been confirmed.
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The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which USA Track and Field follows, considers marijuana a banned substance. The WADA says cannabis “poses a health risk to athletes, has the potential to enhance performance and violates the spirit of sport.” PEOPLE notes that cannabis is classified as a “substance of abuse” by the 2021 World Anti-Doping Code and carries a maximum four-year ban. However, if proven to have been “unrelated to sport performance,” the ban could possibly be reduced to a maximum of three months, and if an athlete completes a substance of abuse treatment program, the ban could be further reduced to only one month. Recreational cannabis use and possession are legal in Oregon, where Richardson tested positive.
It is possible that Richardson could appeal any sanction to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Although she hasn’t directly addressed the reports, she did send out a cryptic tweet shortly after they surfaced reading, “I am human.”
Richardson was set to run in the 200m at the Stockholm Diamond League meeting in Sweden this weekend, though she was not on the entry list for the race on the meet’s official website on Thursday. She had been considered a top contender for the gold medal at the Olympic games and had been aiming to become the first American woman to win the Olympic 100m title since Gail Devers in 1996. During trials, Richardson clocked in at 10.86 seconds during the women’s 100m race, just 0.37 seconds behind the world record held by the late three-time Olympic gold medalist Florence Griffith Joyner.
