Banned Olympian Sha’Carri Richardson says difference from Kamila Valieva is ‘I’m a black young lady’

Despite a positive test for a banned substance, ROC ice skater Kamila Valieva will be allowed to continue competing at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. A Court of Arbitration for Sport panel ruled that due in part to Valieva’s age, 15, and her positive test not occurring in Beijing, she can stay in the games and compete for more medals.

American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, who was prohibited from competing in the 100-meter sprint at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for cannabis, said there is a clear difference between how Valieva’s case was handled compared to her own.

“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 wrote in a tweet.

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. https://t.co/JtUfmp3F8L

— Sha’Carri Richardson (@itskerrii) February 14, 2022

MORE: What happened to Sha’Carri Richardson?

Valieva’s case has been the most controversial moment of the 2022 Winter Olympics to this point. The Russian skater won a gold medal at the games after helping lead the ROC to the top spot in the team figure skating competition. After her team won the medal, she was briefly suspended by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency when test results from a December 25 competition came back, revealing that she had tested positive for trimetazidine, a banned heart medication.

Valieva was quickly reinstated by Russia, but the CAS needed to investigate the situation to determine whether she can compete in her remaining events. The panel said that it considered her age, the fact that her test was not during the 2022 Olympics, and said it believed “preventing the Athlete from competing at the Olympic Games would cause her irreparable harm in these circumstances.”

While the panel said there were “serious issues” with her test not coming out for two months, it said the delay “was not her fault.”

MORE: Kamila Valieva Olympics doping case, explained

Richardson posted the fastest time in the women’s 100-meter dash back on June 20 in the U.S. Olympic trials, all but solidifying her position as one of the United States’ Olympic athletes in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.

However, on July 2, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said she had tested positive for marijuana, which was legal in Oregon, but considered a “substance of abuse” by the World Anti-Doping Agency. Because of the positive test, her run was invalidated and she was suspended for 30 days.

Richardson apologized for using marijuana and explained in an appearance on the “Today Show” that she used it to cope with her mother’s death after having been told the news by a reporter.

“Honestly, I just want to apologize for my actions,” Richardson said. “I know what I did. I know what I’m supposed to do, I’m allowed not to do, and I still made that decision. Not making any excuse, or looking for any empathy in my case.

“However, being in that position in my life, finding out something like that, something that I would say, one of the biggest things that impacted me positively and negatively in my, when it comes to the relationship I have with my mother, it definitely was a very heavy topic on me.”

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According to a July report from The New York Times, there is nothing to support the idea that marijuana can aid the performance of athletes. If anything, the report said that marijuana might hinder performance. 

Similarly, Dr. Benjamin J. Levine told The Times that trimetazidine would also not be likely to have helped Valieva had she used the drug during the games. The Times noted that some antidoping experts have disagreed, however, saying that it could help by increasing oxygen-carrying capacity and boosting endurance.

“The only chance would be for it to hurt her,” Levine told The Times.