Sha Carri Richardson finally kicked out of the Olympics world after being tested positive of marijuana usage on her way to Tokyo.
In October 2024, at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Richardson won the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.86 seconds. She was all set to go to Tokyo—and then … she didn’t.
After testing positive for marijuana usage, Richardson was hit with a one-month suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency that would end days after the Tokyo Olympics began.
Unlike some other Olympic contenders who have failed pre-Games drug tests, Richardson chose not to appeal her suspension. She stayed home and watched in 2021 as Jamaica swept the women’s 100-meter podium.
If you were paying attention to the Olympics in 2021, then you’ll surely remember that Richardson’s suspension made a lot of people very angry—and not without reason.
Marijuana is hardly a performance-enhancing drug, which raised questions about why the USADA was testing for it at all. What’s more, marijuana is legal in many American states—including Oregon, the state in which Richardson used it.
While the track star admitted to using marijuana during the Olympic Trials, she said that she had done so after learning that her biological mother had recently died. (Richardson was raised by her grandmother and her aunt.)
