All hopes to attend the 2021 Olympics for sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson are dashed, for now. The fastest sprinter since Flo Jo Joyner, Richardson found out Tuesday that she has been completely shutout of the games and will not be joining her fellow runners in Tokyo.
The suspended track star held out hope that she would at least be able to run the 4×100 relay race at this years Olympics, but that dream was dashed when her name was not listed on the Team USA roster for Track & Field (USATF). On Friday, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) made Richardson’s suspension official when they announced Richardson agreed to a 30-day suspension, which started June 28. Despite being disqualified from the 100-meters race and a months suspension the USATF had the option to place the 21-year-old track star on the relay team. They chose not to.
In a statement released Tuesday, the USATF finalized its decision saying:
“While USATF fully agrees that the merit of the World Anti-Doping Agency rules related to THC should be reevaluated, it would be detrimental to the integrity of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for Track & Field if USATF amended its policies following competition, only weeks before the Olympic Games,” USATF said. “All USATF athletes are equally aware of and must adhere to the current anti-doping code, and our credibility as the National Governing Body would be lost if rules were only enforced under certain circumstances.”
The USATF praised Richardson and offered her “our continued support both on and off the track.”
