US sprinter Richardson fails drug test ahead of Olympics

By Selcuk Bugra Gokalp

ANKARA (AA) – American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson has been suspended for one month after failing a drug test, the US Anti-Doping Agency said on Friday.

The 21-year-old tested positive for a “main psychoactive constituent of cannabis, marijuana, and hashish,” the agency said in a statement.

Richardson has “accepted a one-month suspension … for an anti-doping rule violation for testing positive for a substance of abuse,” the statement said.

The ban, which comes into effect from June 28, the date of her provisional suspension, leaves her set to miss the Olympics starting in Japan later this month.

“Richardson’s competitive results obtained on June 19, 2021, including her Olympic qualifying results at the Team Trials, have been disqualified,” the agency said.

“Beyond the one-month sanction, athlete eligibility for the Tokyo Games is determined by the USOPC (US Olympic & Paralympic Committee) and/or USA Track & Field eligibility rules.”