Sha’Carri Richardson doesn’t need your newfound adulation; her track brilliance has been brewing for years, and now she has the title to go with it: fastest woman in the world.
The 23-year-old won the 100-meter World Championships title on Monday night, defeating the Jamaicans Shericka Jackson and women’s track GOAT Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
The victory in 10.65 seconds at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary, was Championships record and makes Richardson an early medal contender for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Now Sha’Carri, humbled in the new narrative around her glow up, is living the words of LL Cool J from the hit song “Mama Said Knock You Out,” “Don’t call it a comeback, I’ve been here for years.”
Richardson let the world know after the race.
“I’m honored, I’m blessed, I had great competition [which] pulled the best out of me, and I’m just honored to leave with a gold medal,” Richardson said to the media post-race. “I’m going to stay humble,” she said. “I’m not back. I’m better, and I’ll continue to be better.”
Richardson’s World Championships 100 meters gold medal is the first for an American women since the late Tori Bowie in 2017.
Sha’Carri could have grabbed one of two automatic spots to compete for the title but failed to do so, finishing third in her semifinal heat, making the win in Budapest even more dramatic after she had to wait to learn she would advance on time instead of direct qualification as one of the first two finishers in a semifinal.
You Can Hate Me Now
Richardson has been the target of slander, judgment, and general doubt about her abilities after a positive marijuana test crashed her dreams for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
After winning the women’s 100 final to punch her Tokyo ticket at the 2021 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon, that June, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency revealed that Richardson failed a drug test.
“Richardson’s competitive results obtained on June 19, 2021, including her Olympic qualifying results at the Team Trials, have been disqualified, and she forfeits any medals, points, and prizes,” a statement from the USADA said.
Richardson revealed that she used cannabis to cope with her mother’s sudden death. Although she accepted the one month of ineligibility and accepted the responsibility for her actions, the negative media narrative had begun.
Richardson became a polarizing figure in track, based partly on her sudden pop culture fame and unique cultural style. However, after a down season on the circuit in 2022, this yea Richardson kept her head down and stayed focused. Now, the world can see Richardson’s capabilities and, hopefully, her true character beyond athletic prowess.
“It felt amazing just knowing that not only [do] people see me as an athlete but as a person,” she said. “I want people to see that it goes beyond [being an] athlete, You bring who you are onto the track. You bring your athlete into your life.”
