The athlete missed the Tokyo Olympics after a failed drug test.
United States sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson was denied the chance to compete in the Tokyo Olympics and put herself up against the best in the world due to a failed drug test. Later this month, the Prefontaine Classic will offer a glimpse of what might have been for Richardson in Tokyo.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Richardson is among the confirmed participants for the Prefontaine Classic at the University of Oregon. Richardson is expected to compete in the 100- and 200-meter races.
"Sha'Carri is focused on running a good race since she last competed at the US Olympic Trials," Renaldo Nehemiah, Richardson's agent, told the Journal. "She will be focused on executing her race to the best of her ability regardless of who is in the race."
Richardson's participation in the Classic comes following a month-long suspension by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after she tested positive for marijuana after winning the 100-meters at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June. The infraction cost Richardson a place on the U.S. Track and Field team for the Olympics.
In the Prefontaine Classic, Richardson will go up against the Jamaican trio of 100-meter medalists from Tokyo: Olympic record holder and gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah headlines that group, which also includes Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson. Among the American Olympians in the race will be Teahna Daniels, who finished seventh in Tokyo.
Based on her times from earlier this year, Richardson may very well prove a match for Thompson-Herah and the rest of the Jamaican team. Richardson posted a time of 10.64 in the Olympic Trials semifinals, which was only .03 off Thompson-Herah's Olympic record of 10.61.
This article was originally published by CBS Sports on August 15, 2021 at 1 p.m. ET.
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