Allyson Felixis sending her support toSha’Carri Richardson, and hoping others are doing the same.
Smith, an ESPN commentator, asked Felix to send the 21-year-old sprinter a message in light of “what she endured” both before and after what would have been her first Olympics.
“I know that she’s obviously been through so much and I hope that she’s just supported. I hope people rally around her,” Felix responded. “Obviously she has a great personality and she’s brought a lot of attention to the sport and I think she’ll be in the sport for a very long time.”
She continued, “I think just more than anything, for all athletes, there’s so much that goes into it. Just give her the support that she needs.”
Patrick Smith/Getty; Jonathan Ferrey/Getty
After being suspended from Team USA over a positive marijuana test earlier this summer, Richardsoncompeted against all three women’s 100m Tokyo Olympic medalists— Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Shericka Jackson — at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic in Oregon this past Saturday.
She came in 9th with a time of 11.14, but Richardson held her head high afterward. “Coming out today, it was a great return back to the sport. I wanted to be able to come and perform, having a month off, dealing with all that I was dealing with,” she told reporters.“I’m not upset at myself at all, this is one race, I’m not done.”
Sha’Carri Richardson.Patrick Smith/Getty
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The event was Richardson’s first race since the Olympic Trials, where she also revealed that her biological mother had died shortly before she had to compete.
“Congratulations to the winners, congratulations to the people that won, but they’re not done seeing me yet. Period,” she said after Saturday’s race.
Allyson Felix.ABC
“I feel completely fulfilled to have run that last race. There’s nothing I felt I left undone, you know? I feel confident walking away from the Olympics,” said the star, adding that she has “no regrets.”
source: people.com
