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Sha'Carri Richardson's recent success in 2023 is no fluke, she's doing what she has always promised to do. But to get to this stage, Richardson had to overcome five challenges and now she says she's 'back and better'.
Sha'Carri Richardson is currently the most in-form female sprinter in the world this season, as her recent success on the track is making news headlines globally.
The US sprints sensation highlight of the season so far was at the Miramar Invitational in April, where she blazed to a wind-aided 10.57s to win the elite 100m event - the third-fastest all conditions time in world history.
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Then recently at the Doha Diamond League, she dominated a stacked field with a blistering time of 10.76s - a world lead and Meeting Record. By doing this, Richardson defeated world silver medallist and one of Jamaica's 'Big 3' in the women's 100m, Shericka Jackson.
In a post-race interview after her brilliant performance in Doha, Richardson revealed the reason behind her recent dominance on the track.
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22:47 - 06.05.2023
Watch the trending video of Sha'Carri Richardson say she's 'back and better'
Sha'Carri Richardson revealed how she overcame her struggles, going back to her faith and that she's better this season.
This year is shaping out to be her best career season, and now she's tipped as one of the big contenders to challenge for the world 100m title in Budapest.
It is all rosy for the speedster now, but here is a look at the thorns in the form of five challenges that Richardson had to overcome through the years before her recent success.
1 - Positive marijuana test
Richardson had qualified for the delayed Tokyo 2021 Olympics after winning the US Olympic trials 100m event in 10.86s.
On July 1, 2021, reports circulated that she had tested positive for cannabis use following her 100m final victory at the trials, invalidating her win and making her ineligible to compete in Tokyo. After completing a counseling program, she accepted a one-month period of ineligibility that began on June 28, 2021.
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Richardson stated that she took the drug to cope with the pressure of qualifying for the Olympics while mourning the recent death of her biological mother.
Many individuals and organizations criticised her suspension in favor of liberalizing cannabis policies. Cannabis has remained a prohibited drug for Olympic athletes since 1999, though in 2013, the World Anti-Doping Agency increased the level of THC metabolite allowed from 15 ng/mL to 150 ng/mL.
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19:09 - 04.05.2023
Tori Bowie: 13 things you should know about the late world's fastest woman
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2 - Mother's death
In an emotional post-race interview after winning the 100m title at the US trials to secure her Tokyo Olympics participation, Richardson revealed that her biological mother died a week before winning the trials.
On the heels of posting the winning time of 10.86s in the 100m, Richardson expanded upon the loss she experienced in her personal life:
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"My family has kept me grounded. This year has been crazy for me. Going from just last week, losing my biological mother, and I'm still here.
"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. And the fact [is] nobody knows what I go through. Everybody has struggles and I understand that, but y'all see me on this track and y'all see the poker face I put on, but nobody but them and my coach know what I go through on a day-to-day basis.
"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."
3 - Richardson's disappointment on not making Tokyo Olympics team
Following Richardson's suspension for a month before the Tokyo Olympics, it became evident that while she was ineligible to compete in the individual 100m with her suspension ending on July 27, 2021, she could have been eligible for the women's 4x100m scheduled for August 5, 2021.
However, she was not selected by the USATF, thereby missing the Olympics entirely. She will later express her disappointment in an interview with Samantha Guthrie.
“As much as I’m disappointed, I know that when I step on the track, I don’t represent myself. I represent a community that has shown me great support, great love, and I failed you all,” she said. “So I apologize for the fact that I didn’t know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions... I greatly apologize if I let you guys down, and I did.”
4 - Last place finish at 2021 Prefontaine Classic
In her first race after her Tokyo Olympics saga, Richardson placed ninth - last place - in a time of 11.14s at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic Diamond League.
The race winners were the Jamaican trio of Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.54s), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.73s), and Shericka Jackson (10.76s), repeating the same position format as they did to medal in Tokyo.
Her loss was an object of ridicule on all social media platforms, making a mockery of her last-place finish. Then at the 2021 Brussels Diamond League, she was fourth in the 200m, making it back-to-back losses.
Despite the losses, Richardson posted how proud she was of her progress on social media.
"Learned so much this year, lose so much this year but not one time did I break babyyy. 21 and coming hard till I'm done," she wrote on her Instagram story.
5 - Failure to make the US World Championships team to Oregon
Richardson started the 2022 season with solid early-season performances. Despite this, she failed to make the finals of the 100m and 200m at the 2022 USATF Championships. So as a result, she did not compete at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
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Richardson rose to fame in 2019 as a freshman at Lousiana State University, running 10.75s to break the 100m Collegiate Record. This winning time made her one of the ten fastest women in history at 19 years old.
On April 2021, she ran a new Personal Best of 10.72s, becoming the sixth-fastest woman in history at the time (now joint seventh-fastest), and she's the fourth-fastest American woman in history.
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23:37 - 05.05.2023
2023 Diamond League: Top 5 best performing athletes in Doha
Three Meeting Records and five world leads were set at the Doha Diamond League. Based on each athlete's performances, here are the top five best performers in Doha.
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