In her twenty-four years, record-breaking runner Sha’Carri Richardson has accomplished a great deal. She won both regional and state titles in middle school, which marked the start of her track career. By the time Sha’Carri arrived in high school, she was getting media attention. She was a sophomore at David W.
Carter High School in her hometown of Dallas, Texas, where she won the 100-meter title in the 2016 Amateur Athletic Union Junior Olympics. She received even another honor the following year when she won the 200-meter bronze medal at the USA Track and Field (USATF) National Junior Olympic Track and Field Championships.
After graduating from high school, she pursued her track career at the collegiate level, competing for Louisiana State University and taking home her first NCAA title. When Sha’Carri finished the 100-meter dash in just 10.75 seconds in 2019, she took home that prize. She decided to leave college that same year in order to focus on her track and field career. Sha’Carri signed her first Nike contract because she made the right decision. Her career was blooming despite several setbacks that nearly ended it. Luckily, this Texas girl bounced back rather soon.
Sha’Carri shares the title of “fastest woman in the world” with Florence Griffith-Joyner, also known as “Flo-Jo.” Whether Sha’Carri broke Flo-Jo’s record and will replace her in the 100-meter run is up for debate. Sha’Carri, however, has acknowledged that Griffith-Joyner had previously inspired him.
For Sha’Carri, 2021 was a year filled with highs and lows. She was rapidly rising to become one of the world’s best runners. She finished the 100-meter dash in 10.72 seconds in April of that year, making her the fourth-fastest American woman in history and the sixth-fastest woman in the world.
Unfortunately, in June, after racing the 100-meter in Eugene, Oregon, she told media that her biological mother had died. She eventually qualified for the Tokyo Olympics as a result of this.
She told NBC at the time, “I still choose to pursue my dreams, still come out here, and still make sure to make the family that I do have on this earth proud after learning last week that my biological mother passed away.”
Unfortunately, Sha’Carri’s hopes of competing in the Olympics were dashed when the results of a drug test in July 2021 showed that she had tested positive for marijuana. She was subsequently disqualified from competing since this was against Olympic regulations. Although Sha’Carri did not deny using cannabis, she insisted that it was the only way she dealt with the loss of her mother.
The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, however, remained unmoved. Many people criticized the athlete for destroying her shot, which led to a huge backlash. But after hearing of such a terrible incident, supporters came together to support her, including former basketball player Rex Chapman, who believed the runner deserved grace. Fortunately, Sha’Carri refused to let the controversy define her or her career.
Sha’Carri struggled at first, but in 2022 she pushed herself back out there. She placed fifth in the 100-meter in the U.S. track & field championships in New York in June. She still took first place in the 200m, though. She made amends, though, in August when she won the 100-meter race in Lucerne, Switzerland, in a mere 11.29 seconds.
She once again demonstrated that she was deserving of an Olympic medal in August 2023 when she won her maiden international title in the 100-meter at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in a timing of 10.65. It soon became clear that Sha’Carri would be participating in the Olympics in Paris, and in June 2024, this was confirmed. Sha’Carri returned to the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, where she secured her spot by winning the 100-meter final.
She performed admirably during the Big Games, taking home the silver in the women’s 100-meter event on August 3. Shortly after, on August 9, she won her first Olympic gold medal in the 4×100 relay in 41.78 seconds. The Dallas Independent School District honored Sha’Carri’s accomplishments by renaming the Kincaid Stadium track in her honor a month after she won the gold. Sha’Carri developed her skills at Carter High School, which is where this is located.
This runner’s redemption story is reminiscent of a movie plot, even though her journey is far from over.