Sha’Carri Richardson celebrates after winning the
2021, her captivating performance at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore., made her an instant star. On network television, with Americans stuck inside during the pandemic, Richardson charged to victory in the 100 meters with a flowing orange wig and talon-like fingernail extensions, style that evoked her idol, Florence Griffith Joyner. She announced on the track, “I am that girl.” She then climbed into the Hayward Field stands and hugged her grandmother, the woman who raised her. During the meet, she had revealed that she recently learned her biological mother had died.
Richardson was poised to be one of the biggest American stars of the Tokyo Games. Shortly after the trials ended, she tested positive for marijuana, which she said she had ingested while in Oregon for the trials to cope with the news of her mother’s passing. The penalty, which many viewed as too harsh for what in the United States is a widely legal recreational drug, kept her out of the Olympics.
Saddled with sudden fame and public controversy, Richardson struggled to find her footing. She finished last at her first race back. She aimed to return to prominence at the world championships in Eugene, but at the national championships, Richardson finished a heat in 11.31 seconds, failing to advance past the opening qualifying round.
Over the past few months, Richardson had shown steady signs of ascension. In April, she clocked a wind-aided 10.57 seconds. She won a Diamond League meet in May and kept winning every race she entered.
A month ago in a preliminary heat at the national championships, she ran 10.71 seconds, a personal best that made her the seventh-fastest woman ever. In the next day’s final, she wore one of her trademark wigs, this one fiery orange, at the start line. When her name was announced, Richardson removed the wig, revealing braids that stretched down her back, and tossed it to the track. She then blitzed the field in
10.82 seconds.
Leave a Reply