Sha’Carri Richardson (left) and Kamila Valieva.Photo: Taylor Hill/WireImage; LAURIE DIEFFEMBACQ/BELGA MAG/AFP via Getty
American track and field athlete Sha’Carri Richardson is reacting to the decision to allow Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva to continue to compete at the Olympics, despite a positive drug test, and contrasting it toher own experience.
On Monday, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) announced that the 15-year-old athletecan competein the short program of the women’s skating competition on Tuesday. Valieva’s participation in the event came into question after it was revealed she reportedlytested positivefor the banned substanceTrimetazidine, a heart medication, in December.
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Richardson, 21, won the women’s 100m race at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials last summer. However, she lost her spot on Team USA after she tested positive for THC, a chemical in marijuana, following the trials. Because of the decision, she was unable to compete at the Tokyo Olympics. A different organization than CAS, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), handled Richardson’s testing and suspension.
Tweeting in response to a news article about Valieva, Richardson, 21, wrote, “Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines [sic]? My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady.”
“It’s all in the skin,” she wrote in a separate tweet, then added, “Btw THC definitely is not a performance enhance!!!!!”
She continued, tweeting, “Failed in December and the world just now know however my result was posted within a week and my name & talent was slaughtered to the people.”
Wrote Richardson in a further tweet, “Not one BLACK athlete has been about to compete with a case going on, I don’t care what they say.”
“It is the collective responsibility of the entire Olympic community to protect the integrity of sports and to hold our athletes, coaches and all involved to the highest of standards,” said Hirshland.
To learn more about Team USA, visitTeamUSA.org. Watch the Winter Olympics, now, and the Paralympics, beginning March 4, on NBC.
source: people.com
