(Reuters) – American Sha’Carri Richardson will compete in the 100 and 200 metres events at next month’s Prefontaine Classic, the Diamond League meet organisers said on Monday, weeks after she completes a one-month ban from the sport.
The 21-year-old was seen as the top contender for the 100m at the July 23-Aug. 8 Tokyo Games but her Olympic dreams were cut short after she tested positive for cannabis at the U.S. Track & Field trials in Eugene, Oregon.
The ban wiped out her trials win, stopping her from running in the 100m at the Games, and USA Track & Field (USATF) later declined to include her on the U.S. Olympic relay team.
“I’m looking forward to running fast and putting on a show,” Richardson said in a statement from the organisers.
Richardson finished second in her Diamond League debut in May behind Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, in cold, wet and rainy conditions in Gateshead, England.
Richardson’s ban has reignited fierce debate over the use of cannabis in sport, with the White House reportedly seeking a meeting with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to discuss rules regarding the banned substance.
Richardson’s ban ends on July 28 and the Prefontaine Classic runs from Aug. 20-21 at Eugene’s Hayward Field, kicking off the Diamond League’s post-Olympic series of events.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Ken Ferris)
