"We're not talking about the past" - Sha'Carri Richardson snaps back at a reporter when asked about being a 'changed person' after the Tokyo Olympics

By Bhavin Shivaa

Modified Aug 10, 2024 07:27 GMT

American track sensation Sha'Carri Richardson stormed out of a post-race interview at the 2024 Paris Olympics when asked about being a changed person three years after her disqualification from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A favorite to win the 100m in the pandemic-hit Games held in 2021 and on course to become USA's first female 100m winner since Gail Devers in 1996, she was handed a one-month suspension by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) after a urine sample returned a positive test result for THC, a chemical substance found in marijuana.

Richardson subsequently missed the Tokyo Games.

In a conversation with an interviewer after finishing fourth-fastest overall and qualifying for the semifinal in the 100m heats in the French capital this year with a time of 10.94 seconds, Richardson was asked about being a "changed person" after her disqualification and how she is feeling to be on the biggest stage of her life three years later. Her expression seemed to immediately change as she answered.

"Standing here, while we're talking about the current day here in Paris, it's a phenomenal feeling, We're not talking about the past, we're talking about the present right now. I'm honored to be here and I'm having a lot of fun," she said.

The reporter then followed up by asking if Richardson's family was watching, but not before the athlete had rested her mic and walked away.

Richardson had finished the 2020 USA Track and Field Trials for the Olympics in first position with an electrifying time of 10.86 seconds.

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Sha'Carri Richardson on her suspension: "I know what I did... and I still made that decision."

Sha'Carri Richardson would have entered what would have been her maiden Olympics as the clear favorite to take home the gold medal. But all her hopes of bringing the women's 100m gold back to the USA were squashed when a drug test she took showed traces of THC, a compound found in marijuana and other cannabis products.

Sha'Carri Richardson at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in 2023 | Getty Images

Richardson was subsequently handed a one-month suspension which prevented her from competing at the Tokyo Olympics. Addressing her missed chance, she later said (via Today):

"(I'm) not making an excuse or looking for any empathy in my case, but, however, being in that position in my life, finding out something like that, something that I would say is probably one of the biggest things that have impacted me (...) that definitely was a very heavy topic on me."

Richardson mentioned that she had used the substance in the aftermath of finding out about the loss of her biological mother. She was apologetic for her actions but also noted that it was a conscious decision and that she was aware of the consequences.