Sha’Carri Richardson speaks out against Olympic’s drug testing double standard

Another day, another instance of blatant double standards and racism. 15-year-old Kamila Valieva, a Russian ice skater and competitor in the Beijing Olympics, received a positive drug test for trimetazidine, a performance enhancing drug that increases endurance. The Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) ruled to allow Valieva to continue competing in the Beijing Olympics.

Valieva took home gold in the team figure skating event and became the first woman figure skater in history to land a quadruple jump stunt. Valieva has been known as a Russian phenom, but news of her positive test calls into question both her recent athletic performance and Russia’s methods of pumping out teenage athletic phenoms.

CAS said it “considered fundamental principles of fairness, proportionality, irreparable harm and the balance of interests” between Valieva and the organizations who favor her suspension.

The decision to allow Valieva to continue to compete has sparked an outcry from many Olympic fans and organizations, but the situation is even more grim when seeing the double standard between Valieva and track star Sha’Carri Richardson.

Richardson was an American favorite and expected to compete and medal in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She was found positive for marijuana and was banned from the Olympic trials and lost her spot on the Olympic roster released by the US Track and Field.

It’s not hard to see why Richardson was eliminated for a non-performance enhancing drug while Valieva is allowed to continue to compete and being infantilized by the press while using a performance-enhancing drug.

The decision by CAS is a slap in the face to all athletes who are competing and pushing themselves to their limits without the use of drugs, but it is especially hurtful for Black athletes, who are not afforded the same amnesty or blatant disregard for the rules of the Olympics.