Sha'Carri Richardson suspended from the US Olympic team for one month after testing positive for marijuana
American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson tested positive for THC during the Olympic trials.
The 100-meter front-runner has been suspended by USA Track & Field for one month.
Richardson said she consumed marijuana after learning of her biological mother's death.
Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson has been suspended from the US Olympic team for one month after testing positive for THC, the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) announced on Friday.
Richardson, 21, tested positive for THC, the main psychoactive constituent of marijuana, via a urine sample taken at the US Olympic Team Trials, where she finished first in the 100-meter race, the USADA said.
The one-month ban puts her participation at the Olympic Games later this month in jeopardy.
On NBC's "Today" Friday morning, Richardson said she used marijuana upon learning of the death of her biological mother a few days before the US Olympic Team Trials began. The USA Track & Field star said a reporter inadvertently broke the news of her biological mother's death.
She used cannabis to cope with the state of "emotional panic" that ensued, she said.
"I'm not making an excuse or looking for empathy in my case," Richardson said. "However, being in that position in my life, finding out something like that ... dealing with the relationship I have with my mother, that definitely was a very heavy topic on me."
"I was definitely triggered and blinded by emotions, blinded by sadness, and hurting, and hiding hurt," she added.
The USADA said that Richardson's 100-meter results at the trials have been disqualified because of the positive test, but her athlete eligibility for relay races at the Tokyo Games will be determined by the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee and USA Track & Field.
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