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Sha’Carri Richardson is now the fastest woman in America

The 21-year-old sprinter won the world over by dominating the 100-meter heat mere days after her biological mother passed away.

Bianca Betancourt
Culture Editor
Sha’Carri Richardson is now the fastest woman in America

The 21-year-old sprinter won the world over by dominating the 100-meter heat mere days after her biological mother passed away.

- Actually being able to be an Olympian now, I would tell my younger self everything you've gone through, everything, you don't even understand now, it all will pay off when you least expect it. (upbeat music) Me being the age I am now, it's, if anything it's just motivation. Age doesn't matter. When you step on the track, it's about who's been working the hardest at practices. It's about who has the heart to want to go and get to that finish line first. That's all that it means to me. So I use my age, as honestly, an intimidating factor to everybody else getting on the track. If you've been doing this and I step on the scene, I'm letting you know I respect you for you putting on for our sport, but at the end of the day, when we got on this line what you've been doing, you have to do that against me. And we just going forward from there. (upbeat music) Just honestly, from years of her being that person in my life, when I was younger from day one, up until now, always been in my corner. No matter what I did, no matter if it was gonna matter, if it was bad, she always is right there. My grandmother is my heart. My grandmother is my superwoman. So just to be able to just have her here at the biggest meet of my life, and being able to cross the finish line and run up to the steps, knowing I'm an Olympian now, it just felt amazing. Like honestly, that would probably feel better than winning the races. So being able to just hold her after becoming an Olympian. I would tell 18 year old me before heading to LSU, get ready. You have a lot of unexpected surprises that you didn't think would come so soon, but you are a warrior and stay ready. (upbeat music)
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Sha’Carri Richardson is now the fastest woman in America

The 21-year-old sprinter won the world over by dominating the 100-meter heat mere days after her biological mother passed away.

Bianca Betancourt
Culture Editor
In just 10.64 seconds, Sha’Carri Richardson became a household name.The 21-year-old sprinter wowed the world this weekend after winning her 100-meter heat and securing a coveted spot as part of the U.S. women’s team for next month’s Tokyo Olympics.Following her domination of the trial and in a post-competition interview, Sha’Carri revealed that her win follows a heart-wrenching week: The athlete shared that her biological mother passed away just a week prior to her Olympic-certifying win. "My family has kept me grounded," Sha’Carri told reporters following her sprint. "This year has been crazy for me. Going from just last week, losing my biological mother, and I’m still here…Last week, finding out my biological mother passed away and still choosing to pursue my dreams, still coming out here, still here to make the family that I do still have on this earth proud….I’m highly grateful for them."Without them, there would be no me. Without my grandmother, there would be no Sha’Carri Richardson. My family is my everything, my everything until the day I’m done."Twitter was quick to praise Sha'Carri not just for her athletic skill but also for her emotional bravery in being able to compete just days following her biological mother's death.Others chimed in expressing that they admired Sha'Carri's unapologetic style as she ran her way to victory complete with her orange hair, statement acrylic nails, tattoos, and piercings. Sha'Carri is currently the front-runner to win in this week’s 200-meter race where she currently has the fastest qualifying time at 22.11 seconds. If she goes on to win gold in Tokyo next month, she’ll be the first American woman to do so since Gail Devers in 1996. In another post-race interview when asked what she wants viewers at home to know about herself, Sha'Carri responded, "I just want the world to know that I'm that girl...and every time I step on the track, I'm going to try to do what it is that me, my coach, my support team believe I can do and the talent that God blessed me to have...I'm never going to take an opportunity to perform in vain."

In just 10.64 seconds, Sha’Carri Richardson became a household name.

The 21-year-old sprinter wowed the world this weekend after winning her 100-meter heat and securing a coveted spot as part of the U.S. women’s team for next month’s Tokyo Olympics.

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Following her domination of the trial and in a post-competition interview, Sha’Carri revealed that her win follows a heart-wrenching week: The athlete shared that her biological mother passed away just a week prior to her Olympic-certifying win.

"My family has kept me grounded," Sha’Carri told reporters following her sprint. "This year has been crazy for me. Going from just last week, losing my biological mother, and I’m still here…Last week, finding out my biological mother passed away and still choosing to pursue my dreams, still coming out here, still here to make the family that I do still have on this earth proud….I’m highly grateful for them.

"Without them, there would be no me. Without my grandmother, there would be no Sha’Carri Richardson. My family is my everything, my everything until the day I’m done."

Sha'Carri Richardson celebrates winning the Women's 100 Meter final on day 2 of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 19, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon.
Patrick Smith / Getty Images
Sha’Carri Richardson celebrates winning the Women’s 100 Meter final on day 2 of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 19, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon.

Twitter was quick to praise Sha'Carri not just for her athletic skill but also for her emotional bravery in being able to compete just days following her biological mother's death.

Others chimed in expressing that they admired Sha'Carri's unapologetic style as she ran her way to victory complete with her orange hair, statement acrylic nails, tattoos, and piercings.

This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
This content is imported from Twitter. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.

Sha'Carri is currently the front-runner to win in this week’s 200-meter race where she currently has the fastest qualifying time at 22.11 seconds. If she goes on to win gold in Tokyo next month, she’ll be the first American woman to do so since Gail Devers in 1996.

In another post-race interview when asked what she wants viewers at home to know about herself, Sha'Carri responded, "I just want the world to know that I'm that girl...and every time I step on the track, I'm going to try to do what it is that me, my coach, my support team believe I can do and the talent that God blessed me to have...I'm never going to take an opportunity to perform in vain."

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