Track and field star Sha’Carri Richardson
told the Today Show that watching the 2020 Tokyo Olympics this summer was bittersweet.

“It was a moment of bitterness, but at the same time it was sweet because, it just gives me more, it gives me more time to show the world that I’m here to stay and it guarantees that I’m going to be here just a little bit longer in the game,” she said, adding “definitely watching it made me want to push forward and just grow from that.”

"At the end of the day, I did make a mistake. It doesn't take away from my talent. That doesn't take away from who I am."

In July, the 21-year-old was suspended from the Olympic team and was stripped of the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Games after testing positive for cannabis, as Blavity previously reported.

Richardson said she used marijuana to cope with losing her mom prior to participating in the Olympic trials, Insider reported.

After the test results were made public, the track and field star tweeted that she was human.

She further explained to the Today Show why she believed she needed to take full responsibility for her actions.

“I know what I did, I know I’m responsible and I’m here to take what it is I have to take, from the choices that I decided to make,” she said.

“You can’t run from reality, it’s still going to be there no matter how long you choose to ignore it, no matter how long you choose to think it’s going to go away,” she continued. 

On Saturday, while sporting her new do, Richardson will compete in the 2021 Prefontaine Classic 100-meter event against Olympic medalists Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Shericka Jackson and Elaine Thompson-Herah.

Ahead of the competition, Richardson appeared in a TikTok video reminding fans that she's ready to hit the track, again, as Blavity previously reported.

In the video, the sprinter is seen with blonde and blue hair speaking over a Nicki Minaj voice track. 

“I took a couple, you know, I took some time off to rest,” she said, adding, “and now it’s game time b***hes. You have no idea.”