Adaejah Hodge Fires Back at Critics on Doping Suspension After Smashing Sha’Carri Richardson’s NCAA Record

The Georgia athlete Adaejah Hodge slammed her critics on her doping suspension after delivering a stellar performance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. She shattered Sha’Carri Richardson’s NCAA record in the women’s 100m dash.

On June 11, 2026, Hodge competed in the 100m semifinal heats of the NCAA Outdoor Championships, where she delivered her record-breaking 10.63-second performance at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. With this performance, she shattered the NCAA women’s 100m record, surpassing Richardson’s collegiate record by 0.12 seconds. She is also now the fifth-fastest woman in world history in the 100m race.

In the post-match press conference of this event, she addressed her doping suspension and fired back at her critics. Hodge served a 17-month doping ban from August 2024 to January 2026; however, the sanction was publicly disclosed by the Athletics Integrity Unit in March 2026 because it involved an investigation from when she was a minor in high school. She was tested positive for the prohibited metabolic substances GW501516 sulfone and GW501516 sulfoxide.

In the press conference of the NCAA Championships, she addressed the haters, saying: (2:17 onwards)

“I know the truth behind it and a lot of people may say what they want to say but those are just haters and stuff life goes on there’s nothing I can do about it yeah I guess what I mean what would you say to people who would see this time and say oh she just came back from the suspension they can have questions you say um they can talk honestly I know all the hard work that I put in in the dark where people didn’t see literally in the dark where people didn’t see so I believe in God I believe in my coaches,” said Adaejah Hodge.

She added:

“And most importantly I believe in myself and a lot of people may have seen that or that happened to them and it took a toll like on their mental but that made me stronger knowing that a lot of people are going to hate on me and know that was my fuel to work even harder and strive for things that I really want to achieve in this sport.”

Adaejah Hodge made her feelings known about becoming the fifth fastest woman in history 

After shattering Sha’Carri Richardson’s NCAA record in the 100m dash at the NCAA Championships, Adaejah Hodge became the fifth fastest woman in the world in the 100m. In the aforementioned interview, she was asked about how she feels about this stellar achievement. Responding to this, she credited her win to God and opened up about her faith.

“Wow. In history like all the people that ran. Yes. Yeah. Hey, God did, man. Like I said, I’m always going to allude to God because God is the one that got me here. God is the one who’s going to keep me here. And even if this is the last thing that he gave me in life, I will ever forever be a Christian. I will forever put my faith in God because he has seen me cry. He has seen me happy,” said Adaejah Hodge.