Sha’Carri Richardson made a strong impression on Saturday June 22 during the American athletics selections for the Paris Olympic Games. The sprinter posted the best world performance of the year over 100 meters (10”71). Three years after the nightmare that deprived him of the Tokyo Olympics, Richardson is brimming with ambition for the big Paris meeting.
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A very average start, then an irresistible acceleration, and the last, slightly relaxed meters where she began to celebrate her triumph before even crossing the line: on the track in Eugene (Oregon), Sha’Carri Richardson crushed the final of the 100m “Trials”, the American selections for Olympic Games 2024. Of course, she was the big favorite. But his victory in 10”71 is not insignificant.
The American validates her ticket for Paris, just like Mellisa Jefferson (2nd) and Twanisha Terry (3rd). And she also takes her revenge on the demons of the past and this cursed year 2021 which lives the hope ofAthletics American going off track.
2021, the year of chaos
Already supersonic as a teenager, Sha’Carri Richardson sent her first very clear messages to the world circuit in 2019, at just 19 years old, by breaking two junior world records in the 100m and 200m. The United States then saw in this 1.55m tall woman their greatest asset to finally challenge the hegemony of the Jamaicans in the sprint.
The year 2021 was to be that of confirmation, with the Tokyo Olympic Games in sight, postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic. During the American selections, Sha’Carri Richardson did not tremble. But three weeks before the event in Japan, the rocket veered off course after a positive drug test for cannabis.
Sha’Carri Richardson did not deny the facts, linked to her childhood trauma. The Texan was raised by her grandmother, Betty “Big Momma” Harp, and her aunt, Shayaria Richardson. Shortly before the American selections, she learned of the death of her biological mother. A disappearance which revived her wounds and a pain which she managed by consuming cannabis. “ I am human », she simply blurted out on social networks.
The consequences were terrible for the athlete, suspended for 30 days and therefore deprived of the Games. The following months were an ordeal for the woman who was already psychologically fragile and had notably had to live with suicidal thoughts at a younger age. Pressure, behavioral slip-ups, checkered performances with the big downside being a non-qualification for the 2022 Worlds… Sha’Carri Richardson went through a painful period after this terrible summer of 2021.
The resurrection of an athlete
The year 2023 was that of renewal. Always extravagant, between her oversized nails and her flashy hairstyles, Sha’Carri Richardson quickly showed that she was still there, back with great potential in her legs and a strengthened mind. The first warning came in April 2023 with a time of 10”57 over 100m, with a wind too favorable to honor this time.
The real thunderclap fell on August 21, 2023, at the World Championships in Budapest. Narrowly qualified for the final, the American made a great run from lane 9. While all eyes were on the Jamaican duel between Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sha’Carri Richardson burst like a bullet in the final meters to claim the title and a new personal best and world championships in 10”65. A resurrection for the young woman, relaunched towards the summits of the sprint.
His success on June 22 at the “Trials” is not surprising, but it sounds like a response to the troubles of three years ago. There was emotion in the eyes and voice of the world champion, freshly qualified for the Olympics. In tears, she fell into the arms of her grandmother Betty Harp. “ Over the last three years I have learned to understand myself, to have a better respect and a better understanding of my talent for this sport and of what those around me bring me. I feel that all of these components have helped me grow and will continue to help me grow as a young woman. said Sha’Carri Richardson.
At 24, the American has found her way and is turning to Paris and the Olympic Games, her next goal. In the French capital, Sha’Carri Richardson dreams of breaking the Jamaican 100m series that has been running since 2008 and bringing her country its first gold medal in the premier race since that of Gail Devers in 1996*. She could even make even more sparks, because she also plans to succeed in the “Trials” over 200m.
* American Marion James lost her 2000 Olympic medals in Sydney when it was proven that the American athlete had used doping.