Sha’Carri Richardson Expresses Frustration With Russian Figure Skater’s Approval To Compete

If you’re on sports Twitter, you’ve probably seen some of the frustrated tweets sent out by track star Sha’Carri Richardson regarding the recent doping scandal with a Russian athlete. 

Kamila Valieva, a 15-year-old Russian figure skater and “approved” Olympic athlete, tested positive for doping a banned substance in December but was recently permitted to participate in the 2022 games in Beijing. 

Yesterday, the sport’s court of arbitration concluded that Valieva was allowed to figure skate during the 2022 games, even though her doping test was positive. The Guardian cited sources that explained how keeping the 15-year-old from competing “would cause irreparable harm.”

But harm to who? Harm to what? It’s said that although Valieva is allowed to compete this time around, her positive test could keep her from competing in future games. If she’s even allowed to participate, judges might strip her of medals due to her past experiences with positive doping tests.

We stand with Richardson’s compelling tweets that she’s been posting these past few days. “Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines?” read one of the sprinter’s tweets. She continued, “My mother died, and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady.”

While arguing that “it’s all in the skin” and “THC definitely is not a performance enhance[r]!!!!,” Richardson wrote that in Valieva’s case, she tested positive in December, and it took months to conclude whether she could compete. In Richardson’s instance, her results were “posted within a week, and my name & talent was slaughtered to the people,” she tweeted.

Richardson’s anger and disappointment with the International Olympic Committee is nothing new. After testing positive for cannabis use a few months ago, which the sprinter says she used to help cope with her mother’s death a few days prior, she was prohibited from competing for 30 days, resulting in missing her 100m sprint in Tokyo. 

Canadian figure skater Meagan Duhamel is also on Richardson’s side, as Complex reports her saying, “How is anyone going to take the women’s event seriously now?” Duhamel explained that by approving Valieva for competition, we were basically told that “illegal drugs and abuse are OK.” 

Adding that she wants nothing to do with sports that permit this type of activity, Duhamel concluded, “February 14, 2022. The day the Olympic spirit died.”