On June 19, 2021 Sha’Carri Richardson ran 100 meters during the Olympic test in 10.86. Such a result gave her a real chance of winning the Olympic gold in Tokyo. He gave, but the 21-year-old American did not take part in the Olympics. A few days later it turned out that marijuana was detected in her body.
Controversies around the Tribunal’s decisions
Now Richardson has reacted to the doping blast of Kamiła Walijewa. Trimetazidine was detected in the body of a 15-year-old Russian woman. The inspection took place in December during the Russian championship. We didn’t know the result until the Olympics in Beijing. Walijewa already managed to win the gold in the team competition.
When it was discovered that the 15-year-old had tested positive, the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) immediately suspended the competitor. Several hours later, however, the temporary suspension was lifted by RUSADA, after Walijewa was questioned by Russian officials. In response to the decision of the Russians, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Ice Union (ISU) appealed to the Lausanne Arbitration Tribunal for Sport (CAS) to reinstate temporary suspension of Walijewa, which would exclude her from the soloists’ competition.
CAS, in extraordinary proceedings, allowed the 15-year-old to take part in the soloists competition, in which she finally took fourth place. The judges argued that not allowing her to compete individually could prove to be “irreparable harm” in the event that the ice skater later turned out to be innocent.
– The decision of the Arbitration Tribunal in this case is very unfortunate. Simply put, it is unequivocally wrong. It is a breakthrough in relation to the decisions made so far in matters relating to temporary suspensions, says Micha³ Rynkowski, head of the Polish Anti-Doping Agency (POLADA).
Richardson outraged
Richardson is outraged that Walijewa was allowed to compete in soloists at the Olympics when it was already known that she had obtained a positive result. – Can we get an honest answer about the differences between our situations? My mother died and I couldn’t start even though I was the favorite for the medal in Tokyo. The only difference I can see is that I am a young black woman, wrote Richardson on Twitter.
The story of the American woman was extremely unpleasant. She was to take marijuana in response to the death of her biological mother. She found out about it from one of the reporters during an interview a few days before the performance, from which the result was finally erased. – I’m only human. I was overwhelmed by emotions, evil, and also the pain that was hidden within me. I knew I couldn’t hide from the world, so I hid the pain inside me. This pain was so unheard of in my life, she explained in an interview for CNN.
Richardson believes that there were double standards in allowing Walijewa to compete with soloists in Beijing and at the same time disqualifying her before the Tokyo Olympics. “It’s about the color of the skin,” she added.
The difference between an American and a Russian
– The difference between them is primarily that the laboratory result of the American woman was issued before the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, and the Russian woman during the Winter Olympics in Richardson was suspended and automatically could not start in Tokyo. On the other hand, we found out that Walijewa was “positive” with a delay, when she had already participated in the team competition in Beijing, explains Rynkowski.
As IOC spokesman Mark Adam points out, a sample was taken from Richardson on June 19, the day of the competition. The American Anti-Doping Agency coordinated the process and nine days later the result of the control was known. From June 28, the period of disqualification for the 21-year-old began.
It was different in the case of Walijewa. The skater was inspected on December 25 during the Russian championship and the sample was sent to a laboratory in Stockholm. The result was waited much longer. – WADA emphasizes that RUSADA should request that priority be given to samples taken from competitors going to the Winter Games in China. So that their status would be clear before leaving for Beijing. Then it would be possible to avoid the situation which unfortunately happened in the case of the 15-year-old skater – indicates Rynkowski.
American professionalism and Russian incompetence
The Russians showed their incompetence. They should point out, when submitting samples to the Swedes for examination, that in the case of a few skaters going to Beijing, the inspection result is to arrive sooner than in the case of other competitors tested. – There is no regulation requiring a National Anti-Doping Agency to exercise control of Athletes entering the Games on a specific date. But it is a practice that functions in the anti-doping world and we also use it in Poland. This is nothing extraordinary, observes Rynkowski.
“We did what clean athletes, WADA and the IOC expect from anti-doping agencies to abide by the rules,” said US Today Travis Tygart, director of the American Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), commenting on the Richardson case. USADA made sure that there was no doubt about the cleanliness of the American athletes leaving for Tokyo last year.
– During the last seven years we have seen many times that the Russians cannot be trusted. If they do not follow the rules by which the rest of the world lives, they should not take part in the games – replies Tygart when asked about Walijewa.
– But the IOC will never allow it. The IOC and WADA are playing a sophisticated game of appearances, blaming each other so that no one has to take responsibility and Russia can still avoid punishment, the US Today comment reads.
Marijuana is on the WADA banned substance list – as is trimetazidine. The latter is a medicine for coronary diseases that may increase endurance in athletes.
The suspension of Richardson just before the Tokyo Olympics sparked a wave of criticism in the United States. Some US states allow marijuana to be limited. WADA announced in September that it would review the list of, inter alia, right for marijuana.
Source: Sport
Tristin is an accomplished author and journalist, known for his in-depth and engaging writing on sports. He currently works as a writer at 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the sports industry.
