Category: Olympics

Fans showed their support for Sha’Carri Richardson after she was left off Olympic relay team

Sha’Carri Richardson will not compete in the Tokyo Olympics this summer.

Sha’Carri Richardson is the fastest American woman on the track right now, but she won’t be competing this summer at the Tokyo Olympics.

USA Track and Field released its Olympic roster Tuesday, and the 21-year-old sprinter’s name was not on it for the women’s 4×100-meter relay.

Richardson was suspended for one month after testing positive for marijuana following her 100-meter dash victory at Olympic Trials last month, and her victory in her signature event was invalidated. Marijuana is legal in Oregon, where trials were held, but it’s still prohibited in competition, per World Anti-Doping Agency rules.

Richardson said she used it to help her cope because she was in “a state of emotional panic” after learning at trials that her biological mother had died.

“It definitely was a very heavy topic on me,” she told the TODAY show last week following the news of her suspension. “And people don’t really understand what it’s like to have to … put on a face and have to go out in front of the world and hide my pain.”

Although her suspension guaranteed she wouldn’t be able to compete individually in the 100 at the Olympics, there was a chance she could still compete in the 4×100 relay — which takes place after her suspension ends — because the national governing body has discretion over relay rosters.

But it’s now official that she will not be racing at the Tokyo Games.

In a statement about Richardson’s situation, USA Track and Field said:

“First and foremost, we are incredibly sympathetic toward Sha’Carri Richardson’s extenuating circumstances and strongly applaud her accountability — and will offer her our continued support both on and off the track.

“While USATF fully agrees that the merit of the World Anti-Doping Agency rules related to THC should be reevaluated, it would be detrimental to the integrity of the U.s. Olympic Team Trials for Track & Field if USATF amended its policies following competition, only weeks before the Olympic Games.

“All USATF athletes are equally aware of and must adhere to the current anti-doping code, and our credibility as the national governing body would be lost if rules were only enforced under certain circumstances.

“So while our heartfelt understanding lies with Sha’Carri, we must also maintain fairness for all of the athletes who attempted to realize their dreams by securing a place on the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team.”

After news of Richardson’s suspension broke, fans and other professional athletes expressed their love and support for her. And, while devastated for her and still in disbelief, many continued to do so after she was left off the Olympic team.

Jessica Springsteen will compete in the Olympics and it looks like Bruce planned around it

Big news here!

Jessica Springsteen is officially an Olympian for Team USA.

The equestrian athlete and daughter of Bruce Springsteen is off to Tokyo with the squad. It’s her first appearance with four-athlete U.S. team that also includes Laura Kraut (who won gold in the Beijing Games), McLain Ward (who has won three medals including two golds and a silver) and Kent Farrington.

Springsteen was an alternate in 2012, so this is extremely exciting news for her and the whole family.

In fact, it seems like Bruce may have planned ahead in case his daughter was competing. Let’s dive in to what we’re talking about here:

Get to know Sam Mikulak: 5 facts about Team USA’s veteran Olympic gymnast

Sam Mikulak is back for his third Olympic Games.

For the Tokyo Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. Leading up to the Opening Ceremony, we’re highlighting 23 athletes in 23 days. Up next up is Sam Mikulak.

Sam Mikulak is out on the gymnastics floor proving that age is just a number.

At 28 years old, Mikulak is about to be a three-time Olympian, and the six-time U.S. all-around champion is the only member of Team USA’s men’s gymnastics team with Olympic experience. He’ll also be the first U.S. gymnast to compete in three Olympics since Blaine Wilson in 2004.

After dealing with several injuries in the last year, the Newport Beach, California native finished fourth at Olympic Trials. He’s joined by Brody Malone, Yul Moldauer, Shane Wiskus and Alec Yoder.

In the 2012 London Games, Mikulak finished fifth on vault, and in the 2016 Rio Games, he was fourth on high bar (also called the horizontal bar), eighth on floor and seventh in the all-around competition. The U.S. also came in fifth in the team competition in both those Games.

And now he’s off to Tokyo to compete for his first Olympic medal. Here are five things to know about Mikulak.

READ MORE FROM OUR TOKYO OLYMPICS 23 in 23 SERIES HERE.

Tokyo Olympics: Meet some of the world’s best athletes ahead of the Summer Games

We’re spotlighting 23 athletes in the 23 days leading up to the Tokyo Olympics.

For the Tokyo Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. Leading up to the Opening Ceremony, we’re highlighting 23 athletes in 23 days.

Five years after the Rio Games, the Olympics are finally returning, and the best athletes in the world are preparing to put on a show and, they hope, bring some hardware home.

In the weeks leading up to the Opening Ceremony, we here at For The Win are rolling out a ton of Olympics content to get you ready for the Games, including spotlighting some of the top athletes.

And we’ve got them all right here in one handy place.

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Get to know John John Florence: 5 facts about Team USA’s surfer making his Olympic debut

Meet the surfer competing for Team USA.

For the Tokyo Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. Leading up to the Opening Ceremony, we’re highlighting 23 athletes in 23 days. Up next up is John John Florence.

There were some concerns that the knee injury John John Florence suffered in May would keep him out of the Olympics.

But as the two-time world surfing champion showed in June, he was able to get back on the board and continue his run to Tokyo to compete in the sport that will be making its debut at the Games later this year.

So what should you know about the 28-year-old joining Kolohe Andino, Caroline Marks and Carissa Moore on Team USA? Here are five facts about the surfer who could end up with a medal by the end of the Games.

READ MORE FROM OUR TOKYO OLYMPICS 23 in 23 SERIES HERE.

Patrick Mahomes, athletes react to Sha’Carri Richardson’s suspension: ‘let her run!’

From NFL and NBA players to Olympians, athletes are sharing their support for Sha’Carri Richardson.

In a heartbreaking and shocking turn of events, American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has been suspended for one month after testing positive for marijuana.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced the 21-year-old’s suspension Friday morning. The positive test invalidates her 100-meter dash victory at Olympic Trials last month, preventing her from competing in the race this summer at the Tokyo Games, where she would have been a medal contender. However, there is still a chance she could compete in the 4×100-meter relay, but right now, it’s unclear if that will happen.

Friday morning, Richardson spoke openly on the TODAY show about what led to her positive test for marijuana, which is legal in Oregon, where the Olympic Trials were held, but still prohibited in competition, per World Anti-Doping Agency rules.

She explained that while preparing to compete, she also was coping and in “a state of emotional panic” during trials after doing an interview in which the reporter told her that her biological mother died.

“It definitely was a very heavy topic on me,” she said. “And people don’t really understand what it’s like to have to… put on a face and have to go out in front of the world and hide my pain.”

She received an abundance of support from fans, and several athletes —  including Patrick Mahomes, Dwyane Wade and Olympians Gwen Berry and Vashti Cunningham —spoke out against the consequences she’s facing during this traumatic time.

Sha’Carri Richardson explained her positive drug test and fans gave her so much support

This is so heartbreaking.

Sha’Carri Richardson absolutely captured the hearts of people everywhere with her performance in Olympic trials.

Not only did she run an excellent time with a 10.84, but she just showed so much personality. Her charisma was infectious. She seemed so relatable for so many people. You immediately loved her and loved her story. And, most of all, you couldn’t wait to see her in the Olympics.

But now, that’s out of the picture. At least part of it.

Richardson has been suspended for one month after a positive test for marijuana, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced on Friday. The test invalidates her performance at trials, where she won the 100-metre dash. Because of the test, she’ll miss the 100m race at the Tokyo Olympics in a few weeks.

Just an absolutely heartbreaking turn of events. Richardson did an interview with the TODAY show to explain the positive test.

She said she was trying to cope with learning about the loss of her biological mother at trials while also getting ready to compete. That’s…a lot to handle.

“I just, honestly, want to take responsibility for my actions. I know what I did, I know what I’m supposed to do…and I still made that decision. I’m not making an excuse and I’m not looking for any empathy in my case. But just…being in that position of my life and finding out something like that, something that I would say is one of the biggest things that has impacted me positively and negatively in my life — when it comes to dealing with the relationship I have with my mother. It definitely was a very heavy topic on me and people don’t really understand what it’s like to have to…put on a face and have to go out in front of the world and hide my pain.” 

That’s just so heartbreaking. And her suspension, on top of that, has to be weighing even more on her.

Fans everywhere felt so bad for her.

How Sha’Carri Richardson could still make the Olympics with the 4×100 relay team

This is still a possibility.

Sha’Carri Richardson was suspended for a month after testing positive for marijuana, a heartbreaking turn for the sprinter who won the U.S. Olympics 100-meter trials in Oregon in June.

She’s out of the 100-meter dash in Tokyo for sure … but what if there was a way for her to still join the United States Olympics track and field team?

There is a shot that she could be a part of the 4×100 relay team. How is that possible? As USA TODAY Sports noted, it’s because “that event will take place after her suspension is over. The USATF has discretion to select the members of its relay teams.”

The USADA statement noted that the suspension started on June 28 and runs for one month, so it leaves the door open for the possibility:

It would be great if that could actually happen. We’ll see.

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