Winter Olympics: Sha’Carri Richardson slams CAS ruling allowing Kamila Valieva to compete

American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has criticised the decision to allow Kamila Valieva to compete at the Winter Olympics despite failing a drugs test.

Valieva has been at the centre of a storm at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics since last week, when it was revealed the 15-year-old had tested positive for banned substance trimetazidine in December.

The sample provided by Valieva was taken on December 25th at the Russian Figure Skating Championships in Saint Petersburg, but was only analysed by a World Anti-Doping Agency-accredited laboratory on February 8th.

As a result, Valieva had already helped Russia to a gold medal in the team figure skating event before she received a provisional suspension, which was then lifted by the Russian Anti-Doping Agency after she challenged the decision.

In turn, the International Olympic Committee, WADA and International Skating Union launched an appeal against RUSADA’s decision to lift the provisional suspension.

This appeal has now been turned down by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, a decision which has sparked conflicting opinions.

Richardson has waded into the debate, comparing Valieva’s treatment to her own after she was given a one-month ban for a failed drugs test in June.

The 21-year-old tested positive for a chemical found in marijuana after her victory in the 100m at the US Olympic trials, and was subsequently ruled out of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

This was despite revealing that she had taken the drug to cope with the recent death of her biological mother.

Richardson shared a news story about the Valieva ruling on Twitter, alongside the caption: “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