‘It was such a difficult moment for me’. -Sha’Carri Richardson opens up after she was to denied chance to run in 200m Paris Olympic final despite clinching 100m silver

Sha’Carri Richardson earned silver in the women’s 100-meter final at the Olympics in Paris, but she will not be able to compete for Team USA in the 200-meter final on Tuesday due to an unusual circumstance.

Richardson, 24, finished fourth at the US Olympic track trials in June, but he was not selected for the race. With a time of 21.81 seconds, Gabby Thomas, a teammate from Team USA, won the qualifying.

In second and third place, respectively, were Brittany Brown and McKenzie Long, with Richardson finishing close behind them in a timing of 22.16 seconds.

As a result, Richardson was disqualified from the 200-meter competition at the Olympics in Paris but qualified for the 100-meter and 4×100-meter relays.

With Thomas posting the fastest time (21.86) in the semi-final heats, Brown, Long, and Thomas have all advanced to the 200-meter final on Tuesday. She was among the favourites to win the gold medal because her time was the fastest of all the semi-final competitors.

As a freshman at LSU in 2019, Richardson gained notoriety by breaking the collegiate record in the 100 meters with a performance of 10.75 seconds at the NCAA Division I Championships. With her ranking among the top ten fastest women in her age group, Team USA had a rising star on its hands.

Richardson declared four days after those titles that she will renounce her college eligibility and sign a professional deal at the conclusion of her rookie year. Richardson qualified for the 2020 Olympics after signing with Nike, but her ambitions were dashed by a positive urine result.

Richardson’s urine sample revealed levels of THC, indicating recent cannabis use, prior to the cancelled Tokyo Games. She was disqualified from the Olympic 100-meter race after completing a counselling program and agreeing to a one-month suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).

Devastated, Richardson acknowledged using drugs as a coping mechanism for her mother’s passing. She was not selected and so was not included in the Olympic team, even though she was still eligible to compete in the 4x100m relay in Tokyo.

Richardson made a big impression in the 2023 World Championships by taking first place in the 100-meter final, but he was only able to finish third in the 200-meter event. Her first Olympic medal came from a silver in the 100-meter final in Paris, but St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred won the country’s first-ever gold medal.

The hours after her event revealed Richardson’s unhappiness at losing to Alfred. After finishing, the 24-year-old opted not to interact with reporters, with the exception of correcting one on how to pronounce her name.

Upon her arrival at Stade de France on Sunday, Richardson was asked if she was “happy” with the outcome as she strolled through the mixed zone. In response, she said she was “very happy” and promptly moved away from the assembled reporters.

If Team USA advances to the final as expected, Richardson will race for a gold medal in the 4x100m relay on August 9 under the coaching of former Team USA gold medallist Dennis Mitchell.