The American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, world champion of the 100 meters, qualified this Saturday for the Paris Olympic Games by winning with 10 seconds and 71 hundredths in the selection tests of the Olympic athletics teams in Eugene (Oregon). . If nothing prevents it, the Paris Games will be the Olympic debut for Richardson, who in 2021 was disqualified from the Tokyo Games after testing positive for marijuana after achieving her place by winning, precisely, the pre-Olympic trials in Eugene. It should be noted that in the heats she ran 10.88 after stumbling at the start.
The ‘incident’ before Tokyo
Her disqualification generated enormous controversy at the time, in part due to the enormous charisma of the Texas athlete. Three years later, Richardson redeemed herself in her return to the pre-Olympics by winning her qualifying round on Friday – despite running with an untied shoe – as well as today’s semifinals and final. Along with her, her teammates Melissa Jefferson (10.80) and Twanisha Terry (10.89) qualified for Paris.
“I feel like every day, every chapter of my life, has happened to prepare me for this moment. “I can’t wait to go to Paris and represent” the United States, Richardson said, speaking to NBC right after the race. Last year, Richardson won the gold medal in the 100 meters at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest with a time of 10.65, her personal best. Additionally, she won another gold in the 4 × 100 and a bronze in the 200 meters.
