US 100m sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has apologized after she tested positive for cannabis at the American Olympic team trials last month.

Richardson, 21, won the 100m Team US race in June with a time of 10.86 seconds, securing her ticket to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games due to start later this month.

That time was the sixth-fastest in history, but the Texan’s positive cannabis test means her qualification result has been deleted from the record books.

Richardson has subsequently been suspended until July 27 – meaning she is set to miss the Olympic Games, which start on July 23.

In theory the track star could be free to take part in the 100m and relay events at the Olympics, but the US Anti-Doping Agency (Usada) said her eligibility for Tokyo would be a decision for US Track and Field (USATF) and the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee to take.

In an apology on the Today show on Friday, Richardson asked people not to judge her ‘because I am human’.

Richardson said: ‘I would like to say to my fans and my family and my sponsorship, to the haters too, I apologize.

‘As much as I’m disappointed I know that when I step on the track I don’t represent myself I represent a community that has shown me great support, great love and to y’all I failed y’all.

‘So I apologize for the fact that I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time’ she added, in reference to her mother’s recent death.

‘I was definitely triggered and blinded by emotions, blinded by badness, and hurting, and hiding hurt’, Richardson told the broadcaster.

Cannabis is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada). It is not yet clear if the athlete will appeal the drug test results.

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