Sha’Carri Richardson is back for the 2023 professional track and field season and breaking records at the Miramar Invitational.
On April 8, USA Today chronicled her historic victory in the 100-meter sprint, becoming the third-fastest finish with 10.57 seconds, not accounting for wind time. At the Miramar Invitational, the 2024 Olympic hopeful basked in nabbing first place; throwing her hands in the air, Richardson ran the final seconds to victory.
While this is her first individual win of the season, her entrance back into the sprint took place last weekend at the Texas Relays. Her relay team won second place in the 4×100 race, according to Sports Illustrated.
The Austin event was the Texas native’s first finals in ten months and is only the first of many events commencing in the new year.
After failing her drug test due to marijuana use, the results led to her exclusion from the 2020 Summer Olympics. After also not qualifying for the subsequent World Championships, Richardson is on a mission to prove again that she’s an unstoppable force.
The 23-year-old track star’s removal from the USA Olympic team after dominating in the trials caused much controversy in the sports world, including the racism that impacted her scrutiny in the public sphere:
“That entire situation taught me to look into myself and to see that I have to be grounded because do you see how fast they flip? It almost seems like we have to be superheroes.”
Due to the Olympic committee’s sentencing of a one-month suspension from running in professional track competitions, Richardson was immediately ineligible to compete at the Tokyo Games.
The young runner has maintained that her decision to smoke marijuana stemmed from immense stress and grief after her mother’s passing.
The star athlete has since advocated for mental health awareness and dismantling racism in sports, and is another case of Black women excelling in sports.
