Sports
The story of Sha’carri Richardson: 4th fastest woman in the world
BY KRISHNA MISTRY
The American track and field athlete, Sha’carri Richardson, is currently ranked fourth globally in the women’s category. Richardson, a twenty-four-year-old, has quickly jumped up the ladder in the course of her professional career.
After her first year at Louisiana State University, Richardson became a professional track and field athlete in 2019. At her first meet, she ran the one-hundred-meter race with a record of 10.75 seconds, breaking the collegiate record at the NCAA Championship Division, making her one of the ten fastest women in the world at eighteen.
She competed at the United States Olympic Trials in 2020, winning gold in the one-hundred-meter event. This was a significant moment, as no US woman had won a gold in this event since 1996. Richardson was determined to win in this event, as it had been twenty-four years, but also wanted to prove people wrong. Richardson stands tall at five feet and one inch, and many had told her that this was not the profession for her.
She proved them wrong and won gold in this event at a speed of 10.86 seconds. This led to her qualifying for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. Unfortunately, on July 1st, 2020, it was reported that Sha’carri Richardson had tested positive for THC metabolites, indicating recent use of cannabis and putting her US Trials event in doubt. Richardson then made an official announcement that she had taken the drug to cope with her mother’s death.
Unfortunately, she was not able to compete at the 2021 Summer Olympics, but soon returned to track where she competed at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic, where she placed ninth (last place) with a time of 11.14 seconds.
In 2022, Richardson could not make it to the World Championship as she did not qualify in the one-hundred and two-hundred-meter events in the US National Championship.
Finally, 2023 rolled around in hopes of being the year for Richardson. She won the one-hundred-meter final at the Miramar Invitational, with a time of 10.57 seconds. Moreover, she secured her career’s first Diamond League victory in Doha. This annual day-long track and field meet is held in Doha, Qatar.
Richardson competed at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championship in Eugene, Oregon, clocking in at 10.82 seconds in the one-hundred-meter event, qualifying her for the World Championship.
This was a memorable meet, as seconds before the race, Richardson took her orange wig off and revealed her original braided hair. When asked about her actions, she told the media, “The reason why I decided to do the wig reveal… Last time I was at the big stadium here, I had my orange hair. I wanted to show you guys that I’m still that girl, but I’m better. I’m still that girl, but I’m stronger. I’m still that girl, but I’m wiser.”
With this great win, Richardson competed at the World Championship, where she won the title. The World Championship was held in Budapest, Hungary from August 19th to August 29th.
Richardson proved her athletic skill in Budapest by winning the one-hundred-meter world title with 10.65 seconds, leaving behind Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Jackson is a Jamaican sprinter who competes in the one-hundred, two-hundred, and four-hundred-meter events.
In the one-hundred-meter event, she is the fifth-fastest woman of all time, in the two-hundred-meter, she is the fastest woman alive, and the second-fastest woman in history. Fraser is also a Jamaican sprinter who competes in the sixty, one-hundred and two-hundred-meter events and is widely known as one of the greatest sprinter.
The year 2024 has a lot in store for Sha’carri Richardson, as she will attend her first meet of this year on April 6thl at the 2024 Miramar Invitational alongside Shericka Jackson. She is also training for the 2024 Paris Olympics as it will mark her debut in the Olympics.