American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson had designs on winning gold at last summer’s Tokyo Olympics until a positive drug test dashed those hopes. Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva will continue the pursuit of her own gold medal aspirations at the winter games in Beijing this week, despite also testing positive for a banned substance.
The difference, as Richardson sees it, comes down to race.
“Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines? 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,” Richardson, 21, tweeted on Monday.
That isn’t the only notable difference between the two cases. Richardson tested positive for cannabis –– not exactly known to enhance athletic performance –– while the 15-year-old Valieva tested positive for trimetazidine, a heart medication that has been said to promote greater endurance in athletes.
Richardson was suspended for 30 days by the United States Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for pot in late June, invalidating her victory in the women’s 100m race at the U.S. Olympic trials and ultimately keeping her out of the summer games in Tokyo.
After being dealt the suspension, Richardson said she turned to cannabis to cope with the unexpected death of her mother during the Olympic trials in June.
“It sent me into a state of emotional panic,” she said at the time. “I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time.”
In September, the World Anti-Doping Agency said it would reconsider cannabis’ inclusion on its list of banned substances.
Valieva, meanwhile, has already struck gold once in Beijing this month, helping guide the Russian Olympic Committee to the top of the podium in the figure …
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Author: Thomas Edward / High Times
