sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson Claims the Olympics Took a Racist Decision Against Her
Sha’Carri Richardson, a sprinter who was suspended from competing in the 2021 summer Olympics over a positive marijuana test, claimed that the decision to allow a Russian skater to continue to participate in this month’s winter games despite finding evidence of an illegal performance enhancement drug (PED) is racist.
The two sprinters were among the 120 young athletes at the inaugural Youth Olympics Games, which are held every four years for competitors 18 and under.
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) says that it is reviewing its cannabis policy. It currently lists marijuana as a “substance of addiction” with no threshold level to distinguish between a performance-enhancing or recreational dose.
In contrast, WADA’s code allows athletes to use certain anabolic steroids if the level of the drug in their system does not exceed certain threshold levels.
Sha’Carri Richardson said that “The Russian is being protected because she’s a powerful white woman and I’m being abused because I’m a black woman,” referring to Alina Zagitova, the Russian figure skater.
“I used cannabis at home with my mum in California and was still suspended,” she added. “The Russians are using PEDs at their home Olympics and nothing happens.”
Sha’Carri Richardson claims that she’s being punished more harshly for a positive marijuana test than the Russians were when they tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
Sha’Carri Richardson Suspended in Summer Olympics
Sha’Carri Richardson, a sprinter who was suspended from competing in the 2021 summer Olympics over a positive marijuana test, claimed that the decision to allow a Russian skater to continue to participate in this month’s winter games despite finding evidence of an illegal performance enhancement drug (PED) is racist.
WADA lists marijuana as a “substance of addiction” with no threshold level to distinguish between a performance-enhancing or recreational dose, but its code allows athletes use certain anabolic steroids if the level of the drug in their system does not exceed certain threshold levels.
Sha’Carri Richardson Calls Out Double Standard on Olympic Drug Policy
Sha’Carri Richardson said that “The Russian is being protected because she’s a powerful white woman and I’m being abused because I’m a black woman,” referring to Alina Zagitova, the Russian figure skater.
Following the news that Russian skier Semen Elistratov had been allowed to compete last month in the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics despite testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing drug, sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson claims the decision was racist.
Elstratov tested positive for acetazolamide, a stimulant banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) because it can be used to mask performance-enhancing drugs, in December 2017. He was allowed to compete in the games because Russia’s Olympic Committee wasn’t aware that he had tested positive until after Elistratov had competed.
Sha’Carri Richardson, who tested positive for cannabis after the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) selected her as a potential finalist for the 2016 summer games, claims that she was forced to give up on her dreams of competing in Rio after the USOC took an unfair decision against her.
Conclusion
The American sprinter says that WADA’s marijuana classification as a “substance of addiction” with no threshold level to distinguish between a performance-enhancing or recreational dose is unfair because other drugs, including anabolic steroids, have threshold levels.
Sha’Carri Richardson said that “The Russian is being protected because she’s a powerful white woman and I’m being abused because I’m a black woman,” referring to Alina Zagitova, the Russian figure skater.
She claims that she is being punished more harshly for a positive marijuana test than the Russians were when they tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug.
