After placing first in the 100-meter dash for Team USA on June 19, Sha’Carri Richardson tested positive for THC. Following the positive test, she received a one-month suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) and can no longer compete in her top event. Shortly after, Richardson received news from the US Track and Field Administration about her removal from the 4x100m dash. This event will take place after her suspension ends. Many people took to the internet supporting Richardson, condemning the ruling, and questioning how this suspension compares to the Michael Phelps situation involving cannabis over a decade ago.
Suspension
USA Swimming suspended Phelps in 2009 from competing for three months and withdrew their financial support of him after a leaked image came out months after the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Phelps held a water pipe in the picture. He dealt with several fallouts from the leaked photo of him holding the cannabis device. He not only was ineligible to compete during his suspension in 2009, a year after the Beijing Olympics. However, Kellogg announced they would not renew their sponsorship deal with Phelps.
However, Phelps had that picture taken in November 2008, about three months after the 2008 Olympics, where he won a gold medal in all eight of his races. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), in 2008, cannabis was prohibited but not during the out-of-competition period. Since the picture became published three months after the Olympics, Phelps held the water bong during the out-of-competition period, which was okay according to the rules. During the competition, he never tested positive for cannabis.
During the 2012 London Olympics, again, Phelps competed and won four golds and two silver medals with no positive cannabis drug tests. Finally, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Phelps won five gold and one silver medals, which made him the most decorated Olympic athlete with 19 total medals.
Timing and Location
While Phelps became suspended following the Olympic games, Richardson received suspension before the Olympics. Again, according to the WADA regulations, the 2021 code prohibited cannabis use during the “in-competition” period. This period starts “just before midnight on the day before a competition” an athlete is scheduled to participate, and goes “until the end of the competition and the sample collection process.”
Because Richardson consumed cannabis before her competition, she violated this year’s standards, which resulted in her suspension and removal from the Olympic team.
Phelps became suspended in February 2009, six months after the 2008 Olympics and five months before the 2009 World Championships. Richardson’s suspension goes into effect less than a month before the beginning of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
Another difference shows Richardson consumed cannabis in Oregon. Medical and recreational cannabis is legal in that state. On the other hand, when the Phelps image came out, non-medical cannabis use was illegal nationwide. No states had legalized recreational cannabis. That didn’t come until 2012 with Colorado and Washington state, three years after Phelps’ suspension.
Additional Consequences
In addition to the suspension, Richardson’s 10.89-second time at the Olympic trials became invalid. Striking out her time automatically makes her ineligible from competing in the 100-meter race. In comparison, all of Phelps’ times remained intact. He did not test positive for cannabis and the photo of him came out after the Olympics concluded.
Despite the suspension, Richardson is only 21 and will have more competitions to compete in going forward. She did an interview with the TODAY show explaining her side of what happened leading up to her suspension.
The Tokyo Olympics begins Friday, July 23 and ends Sunday, August 8.
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