Sha’Carri Richardson’s beef with Gabby Thomas explained after Olympics drama
eam USA rivals Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas have enjoyed success at the Paris Olympics three years after the duo clashed ahead of the Tokyo Games.
On Tuesday, Thomas – the favorite heading into the event – sprinted to Olympic 200m gold ahead of 100m champion Julien Alfred and fellow Team USA star Brittany Brown, who edged Team GB’s Dina Asher-Smith to bronze. Thomas clocked a time of 21.81 seconds to clinch the win.
Back in 2021, Richardson was disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency gave her a 30-day suspension, and the month-long deferral immediately disqualified her from the 100-meter Olympics in Japan.
Richardson contested the decision and revealed she had been using the substance to cope with her mother’s recent death. As a result, fans were outraged and insisted they would boycott the Olympics as a show of support for the American. The boycott threat did not go down well with Thomas. She took to social media to call out those who vowed not to watch because of Richardson’s suspension.
“It really hurts to see so many black people choosing not to watch the Olympics this year,” Thomas posted. “There are so many black athletes who have put in YEARS of hard work for this moment- myself included. We want your support.”
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