Today, Dallas, Texas native Sha’Carri Richardson took home gold during the 100M at the 2023 Track & Field World Championships in Budapest with a time of 10.65s. In a highly anticipated race, the 23-year-old sprinter edged off the Jamaican powerhouses, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson by mere milliseconds—but she got it done.
This win, though, was about more than claiming the gold medal on the world stage. If you recall, Richardson was slated to be a force during the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo after qualifying to represent the USA in the 100M. Just after that meet, the Olympic Committee subjected her to a urine test, in which THC (marijuana) was present. Due to the committee’s long-standing anti-drug policy, the young star was disqualified from her Olympic debut.
A heart-broken—and still very young—Sha’Carri Richardson told the world to not count her out; that she would be back to claim what was hers. Although marijuana is becoming legalized across the US, and there are many initiatives to decriminalize it, much of the world turned on Richardson, saying that she should have known better or that she should have known the rules.
After a few controversial social media posts and interviews, the sprinter took some time away from the public eye and ridicule to refocus not only on her craft, but her self. Earlier this year, she came out swinging in the track world, and that was her way of letting us know, ‘it was time.’
On April 8, 2023, she ran the fourth-fastest 100M by a woman in all conditions, clocking 10.57 seconds during the women’s final at the Miramar Invitational. In May, she took home another 1st place win in Doha, Qatar. During her qualifying heat win in the 2023 World Championship, Richardson gave insight on what was keeping her so grounded in the new season.
“I’m not worried about the world anymore. I’ve seen the world be my friend, and I’ve seen the world turn on me,” Sha’Carri Richardson said from Budapest. “But at the end of the day, I’ll always be with me and God has always been with me. Now, is my time, it’s always been my time. It’s my time to do it for myself, the people that felt like me and the people that look like me. I represent those people.”
2023 is certainly gearing up to be her year, and we can’t wait to see her full comeback story and domination.
