Sha’carri Richardson

Sha’Carri Richardson is an extremely fast sprinter who, at age 21, was favored to win the women’s 100 meter race at the Tokyo Olympics. You might recognize her by her bold personality, long nails and ever changing hair color. Richardson is a native of Texas, where everything is big, and her personality and determination are no exception. 

You might also have heard her name during the Tokyo Olympics when Richardson received a month long suspension issued by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for marijuana use. The timing of the suspension meant she could not compete in the Tokyo Olympics. Although marijuana is not a performance enhancing drug, it is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency, also known as the WADA. The WADA has plans to review the status of cannabis on the anti-doping list, but it currently remains a banned substance in 2022.   

Richardson acknowledged that she had used marijuana to cope with the death of her biological mother, and accepted the suspension during the Summer Olympics. Questions about the fairness of Richardson’s suspension surfaced during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing after a Russian skater was allowed to compete despite testing positive for trimetazidine, a performance enhancing drug that is banned by the WADA. Many people believe that Richardson was treated unfairly when she was denied the opportunity to compete at the Olympics, but she has plans for a comeback. 

Richardson, who was the top female sprint recruit for 2018 ran track at Louisiana State University during her freshman year of college. She holds the record for the women’s 100 meter in the NCAA Championship, where she ran 10.75 seconds to win the title. Her personal best time is 10.72 seconds in the 100 meter. Richardson’s 2022 season has been impressive so far and she is scheduled to compete in several races this summer. Her current times rank her as one of the top six fastest 100 meter women in the world. It will be exciting to watch Richardson compete on the track this year.