Sha'Carri Richardson is not here due to a recent decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva has been revealed to have been allowed to compete in the Beijing Olympics after failing a drug test. According to CNN, the 15-year-old tested positive for a "banned substance" in December. Sha'Carri compared it to her being banned from the Tokyo Olympics last summer after testing positive for THC.
"Can we get a solid answer on the difference between her situation and mine? My mom died and I can't walk and she was top 3 favorite too," Sha'Carri tweeted. "The only difference I see is that I am a young black woman."
She went on to write on Twitter and Instagram: "It's all in the skin." She shared front page articles about the CAS ruling. The voting panel ruled that Kamila can skate in the women's ice skating competition pending an investigation.
How the Beijing Olympics discovered
The Beijing Olympics reportedly discovered the positive result on December 8 after it was reported by a Swedish laboratory. The Russian Anti-Doping Agency imposed a provisional suspension on Kamila that same day, which she lifted on February 9. The International Olympic Committee, the International Skating Union and the World Anti-Doping Agency submitted requests to review the decision. On Monday, CAS rejected the applications filed on December 11 and 12 (Beijing local time).
"I failed in December and now the world knows it, but my result was published in a week and my name and talent were killed by people," Sha'Carri responded to the news.
In the press release, CAS listed several "extraordinary circumstances" for its refusal to ban Kamil, including her "protected person" status given her age. She also did not test positive for the "banned substance trimetazidine" during the Beijing Olympics.
"The Panel considered that preventing the Athlete from participating in the Olympic Games in these circumstances would cause her irreparable harm," the statement said.
No award ceremony
The International Olympic Committee announced that Kamila will not hold a flower or medal ceremony if she finishes in the top three competitors.
“…it would not be appropriate to hold the medal ceremony of the team figure skating competition during the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics because there would be an athlete who on the one hand has a positive A sample but whose anti-doping rule violation by the other has yet to settle the hand,” the committee said in a statement.
Sha'Carri admitted mistakes
In her series of posts, Sha'Carri also discussed the substance she tested positive for last summer.
"BTW, THC is definitely not a performance enhancer," she tweeted.
As previously reported, Sha'Carri took full responsibility for her failed test during an interview on the Today show in July 2021. Speaking via video link on live television, she said: "I know what I've done. I know what I should do (what) I shouldn't do, and I made my decision anyway. Don't judge me because I'm human."
