IOC responds to Sha'Carri Richardson double standard claims in Kamila Valieva doping controversy - New York Post

The International Olympic Committee has responded to Sha’Carri Richardson’s claims that there is a double standard at the Beijing Olympics when it pertains to drug testing.

Earlier this week, 15-year-old Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva was cleared to continue competing in the Winter Games following an appeal on the star’s interim ban after she failed a pre-Olympics drug test.

Richardson — who was banned from competition at the Summer Games in Tokyo last year after she tested positive for marijuana — took to social media to call out the Valieva case and demand “a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mine.” Richardson, who is black, also claimed race played a factor in her suspension.

On Wednesday, Mark Adams, an IOC spokesman, addressed comparisons between the cases, per Yahoo Sports, and said, “You can’t talk about double standards in relation to Russian and American athletes, each case is individual.

“Richardson’s positive doping test was discovered on 19 June, and the result was received before the start of the Olympics. She was suspended for a month. There is nothing in common between these two cases.

Can we get a solid answer on the difference of her situation and mines? My mother died and I can’t run and was also favored to place top 3. The only difference I see is I’m a black young lady. https://t.co/JtUfmp3F8L

— Sha’Carri Richardson (@itskerrii) February 14, 2022

“This Games, which has not concluded, concerns an issue in December. She is in the center of a lot of speculation. It must be very tough for her.

“We of course are in touch with the team, her welfare is the team’s first priority, and obviously we are very careful of that but there’s only so much that we can do.”

The decision to ban Richardson from the Tokyo Games became a controversial topic and drew support for the sprinter from celebrities and fellow athletes. She was favorited to win gold in the women’s 100 meters in Tokyo before being banned.

Sha’Carri Richardson reacts after competing in the Women’s 100m semi-finals on day 2 of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Trials.

Getty Images

Kamila Valieva of ROC performs during the Women’s Single Skating Short Program

Getty Images

In the Valieva case, the teen skater tested positive for a banned heart medication, trimetazidine, in a sample given in December — but the results weren’t flagged until this month, just after she won gold for the Russian Olympic Committee in the team competition.

The IOC has said different rules apply to minors, making Valieva a “protected person.”

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IOC responds to Sha'Carri Richardson double standard claims in Kamila Valieva doping controversy - New York Post
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