Sha'Carri Richardson took a long road back to get to this point, on the brink of a potential Olympic medal.
The 24-year old was the talk of the town ahead of the Tokyo Games, qualifying with an impressive 10.86-second time in the 2021 U.S. Olympics trials. She appeared on the cusp of international glory. But a positive marijuana test prompted a 30-day suspension, one which kept her out of Olympic competition entirely.
Richardson has scaled the mountaintop once again, emerging as Team USA's best chance at a gold medal in the 100m during the 2024 Paris Games.
To understand who Richardson is — and just how monumental a potential medal would be for the LSU product — you have to know her story. For many, that story began when that fateful test result became public knowledge.
The Sporting News revisits Richardson's controversial suspension after failing a marijuana test back in 2021, as well as her Olympic redemption in 2024.
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Sha'Carri Richardson marijuana controversy, explained
Richardson was a sensation in the lead-up to the 2021 Tokyo Games. The then-21-year-old had the world at her fingertips, having secured a spot on the U.S. squad with a blazing showing at Olympic trials.
She rumbled through the 100m field with a time of 10.86 seconds, 0.13 faster than second-place Javianne Oliver. She looked poised to join the likes of Florence Griffith-Joyner, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Allyson Felix as sprinters to capture the nation's eye during an Olympic cycle.
Days after Richardson's run at Olympic trials, however, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced that it had flagged Richardson's urine sample. She tested positive for marijuana, a substance that is legal in Oregon — the state where U.S. Olympic trials are held — but classified as a "substance of abuse" by the World Anti-Doping Agency, the governing body that USADA reports to.
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Richardson's win was invalidated and she was handed a 30-day suspension. She was also left off the Olympic roster in the women's 4x100 relay team, though she could have been included despite her suspension.
In an interview with NBC's "Today" show, Richardson explained the terms of her suspension, as well as the incident that led to it. Richardson's detailed how she used marijuana to cope with her biological mother's passing, news she found out by way of a reporter she described as a "complete stranger."
"Honestly, I just want to apologize for my actions," Richardson said. "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. Not making any excuse, or looking for any empathy in my case.
"However, being in that position in my life, finding out something like that, something that I would say, one of the biggest things that impacted me positively and negatively in my, when it comes to the relationship I have with my mother, it definitely was a very heavy topic on me."
Sha’Carri Richardson (@itskerrii) joins us live for an exclusive interview to discuss the positive marijuana test that’s put her Olympic future in limbo. pic.twitter.com/iVBp3zhvja
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 2, 2021
“Don’t judge me, because I am human… I just happen to run a little faster.”
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) July 2, 2021
Sha’Carri Richardson (@itskerrii) speaks with @SavannahGuthrie about her failed drug test. pic.twitter.com/aZKTDhYn6Z
Richardson showed traces of THC in her system, a prohibited substance according to WADA's guidelines. For a substance to be considered prohibited by WADA, it has to meet two of three criteria:
- It poses a health risk to athletes
- It has the potential to enhance performance
- It violates the spirit of sport
It's likely that WADA deemed Richardson's violation as posing a health risk to athletes and violating the spirit of the sport. Despite the backlash from Richardson's ban, the organization still prohibits the use of the substance during competition.
Richardson's journey back to the upper echelons of track and field wasn't without its obstacles. She finished ninth in the 2021 Prefontaine Classic, which came shortly after conclusion of Olympic competition. Richardson also missed out on the 100 and 200 finals in the USATF Championships in 2022.
She soon found her footing, though, following a first-place finish in Diamond League with a U.S. Championships title in 2023.
Then came her crowning achievement: a first-place showing at the 2023 World Championships. Richardson took him the gold medal with a scorching 10.65 showing in Budapest, staking her claim for the title of world's fastest woman.
Richardson was also a member of the U.S.'s gold-medal-winning 4x100 side. And, she even picked up a bronze in the 200, rounding off a splendid day in Hungary's capital.
She has gone from strength-to-strength in the year since, nabbing a first-place finish at U.S. Olympic trials to punch her ticket to Paris. Richardson wasn't able to accomplish the same feat in the 200m — she finished fourth, just outside of Olympic qualification.
Nevertheless, she enters the Paris Games as one of the favorites for gold in her signature 100m, especially with Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson out of the competition.
