It is extremely special for every individual to make it to the Olympics, just as Sha’Carri Richardson.
However, Richardson’s reaction after winning on Saturday night seemed to go beyond simply realizing that she had booked a ticket to Paris for the July 26–27 Summer Olympics.
It appeared to be a reaction to how she was disqualified from the Tokyo Games as well.
Sha’Carri Richardson’s place on that Olympic squad for 2021 was controversially and notoriously taken away from her. In a post-race drug test, she tested positive for THC, the main ingredient in cannabis, after winning the 100-meters in the trials.
The 21-year-old Sha’Carri Richardson claimed at the time that she had taken marijuana to help her deal with the news that her biological mother had passed away which a reporter had told her a few days before the start of the proceedings.
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She agreed to a one-month ban, but since the Tokyo 4×100-meter relay took place after her suspension finished, USA Track & Field, the organization that oversees the sport in the United States declined to let her compete.
Given the legalization of marijuana in Oregon, the site of the Olympic trials, and the state’s growing acceptance of marijuana use, Sha’Carri’s suspension caused a heated debate about whether the punishment was appropriate.
All types of cannabinoids, except cannabidiol, were and remain prohibited substances, according to the World Anti-Doping Agency.
It appeared that the director of the US Anti-Doping Agency supported Richardson. CEO Travis Tygart, at the time, stated in a statement: “The guidelines are unambiguous, yet this is deeply upsetting in many ways.”
Even President Joe Biden expressed doubts about the need to reconsider the prohibition.