Sprinter Shakari Richardson is back in the spotlight, fulfilling Team USA’s Olympic hopes by becoming the first athlete to win gold in the women’s 100m since Gail Devers in 1996. This redemption comes three years after a failed drug test derailed her dream of competing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Richardson qualified for the 100m event at the Paris Olympics last week, running a blistering time of 10.71 seconds. But on Thursday she advanced to the next stage in the 200m heats, topping the heat with a time of 21.99 seconds. This is her second fastest time in the world among women this year. The fastest woman this year is American athlete Mackenzie Long, who ran times of 21.83 and 21.95 seconds this month as Ole Miss ran to win the NCAA Championships.
“Every time I step on the track, it’s an opportunity to do my best,” Richardson told NBC after the Olympic qualifying heat at historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Richardson's journey to compete in the 2024 Olympics is a story of redemption.
The 5'1 sprinter was only 21 years old when she first qualified for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021 (due to the COVID-19 pandemic), but with regular drug testing for athlete doping. I was recently disqualified from the 100m race for using marijuana.
Richardson said his use of marijuana was prompted by the recent death of his biological mother and the pressures of being in the public eye.
She simply wrote on X (formerly Twitter) at the time: “I am human.”
After she was pulled from the Olympics, advocates for less stringent marijuana laws and fellow athletes spoke on Richardson's behalf, urging the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to re-evaluate the drug. Performance enhancing drugs are prohibited substances.
WADA has said it will review the cannabis ban in 2021, but “all natural and synthetic cannabinoids” will remain banned in 2024, with the exception of cannabidiol, commonly known as CBD.
After the controversy, Richardson rededicated herself to the sport and won the 100m title at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, earning her the title of fastest woman in the world.
In an interview with NBC after Thursday's 200-meter meet, Richardson received cheers from the crowd for her return to the world track stage.
“It's an incredible feeling,” said the Texas native and former LSU Tiger. “I feel like they're growing up. I feel a real love, and I feel a responsibility to my talent and to the sport.”
“As the roar grows, I grow with it.”
Richardson will compete in the 200-meter semifinals on Friday, and the top three finishers in Saturday's final will represent Team USA in Paris.