When the World Athletics Championships are held in Eugene, USA, in July, the women’s 100-meter race will be held without one of the host nation’s biggest attractions.
The sprinter Richardson was not close to qualifying for the World Cup at home when she ran the distance in the US National Championships in the same place.
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The 22-year-old from Dallas ran straight into star status last spring. It happened not only because of impressively fast times, but also thanks to a distinctive personality and sensational running outfit.
Then came a giant downturn when she tested positive for marijuana and lost the Olympics in Tokyo.
The American Olympic qualifiers are known for following the result lists from the mentioned competitions, and Richardson’s result there was deleted after the positive test. Thus, she was no longer qualified.
Dropped the media
Recently, Richardson performed a 100 meters at a strong 10.85 during a competition in New York. Wearing mesh-inspired clothes, she seemed to be on the right course towards the World Cup.
But on Friday night, Richardson was only number five in his initial heat with a time of 11.31.
Afterwards, she hurried right past the press zone, and refused to answer questions from the media.
Richardson admittedly stood for a few seconds waiting for a TV interview with another runner to be completed. But then she escaped and jogged firmly away from the area.
The performance she delivered in the American championship was only the 23rd best of the 31 participants in the 100 meters. Only the top three in the distance final will be allowed to participate in the World Cup for the USA.
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The final of the national championship will be run on Friday night.
The former sprint star Ato Boldon was one of those who noticed Richardson’s unexpectedly weak effort.
The Olympic silver medalist from the Sydney Games in 2000 described the 22-year-old’s sorti as the “first shock” during the American championship.
