The road to the Paris Olympics had been bumpy for track and field phenom Sha’Carri Richardson. After missing indoor heats, she made her 2024 debut in the Xiamen Diamond League but got beaten in 200m by 19-year-old Australian Torrie Lewis by 0.03 s. She then slid down further in Shanghai, placing third. Yet her previous performances suggest that Olympic success won’t be a distant dream.

Despite early season struggles, the track and field world isn’t ready to give up on Richardson yet! The two-time World Champion is strongly favored to win many Olympic medals this summer. Just weeks before the Prefontaine Classic this month, her 2023 100m iconic winning moment went viral, generating waves of cheers, support, and admiration for Richardson.

Winning the 2023 Budapest World’s 100m with a personal best time of 10.65 seconds, Richardson beat Jamaican stars Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Seconds after conquering the World title, Richardson’s reaction was quite captivating when she saw herself victorious.

@NBCOlympics shared a video of Richardson’s euphoric reaction to her win on X with the caption, “Sha’Carri Richardson’s (@itsshacarri) incredible reaction to becoming the world 100m champion.” In an effort to replicate that feeling again, Richardson is going ‘all in’ indeed. “I ain’t going nowhere, I’m locked in, I’m working,” she stated after her last setback in Shanghai.

Preparing to make her 100-meter race debut this year on May 25 at the Prefontaine Classic 2024, the 24-year-old will be against Julien Alfred and Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith at Hayward Field. She also confirmed playing in the Eugene Diamond League, hoping to continue winning from the 2023 Diamond League in Doha, Silesia, and Zurich.

Richardson’s next goal on the Paris Olympics journey is to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials, which take place in Eugene, Oregon, from June 21-30. The top six women will join the 4x100m relay team, while the top three women in the 100m individual race earn spots in the Paris event.

Richardson, who won the bronze medal in the 200m event in 2023 and is a contender in the 200m race as well, will face more formidable opponents. Nevertheless, fans stand tall in support of the track queen, preoccupied with her archived moments while she quests for Olympic gold this year.

“Its personal,” fans show support as Sha’Carri Richardson eyes redemption

With a personal best time of 10.65 seconds, the American sprinter is the fifth-fastest female 100-meter record holder ever. Fans are excited to see her pursue more international success after her outstanding performance at the 2023 Worlds in Budapest, where she took home two golds and one bronze. Sharing outright excitement, a fan believes now is her time for Olympic success.

Apart from winning the 100m, she also helped Team USA to gold in the 4×100 m relay and finished with bronze in the 200m sprint in Budapest. For this, she was awarded the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete of the Year for women in 2023. The Paris Olympics will provide her with a chance to further cement her growing stature.

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A fan showing their support for Richardson believes the future of USTAF is in good hands with her consistent progress.

Richardson’s only concern right now is getting into the Olympics in Paris. The track standout missed the US Olympic Team Trials before the Tokyo Olympics due to a ban following a positive test for THC in 2021. But she bounced back to conquer the field in Budapest. Her reaction to her stunning victory was a showcase of resilience that she can use given the mixed start to the season. A fan was happy to revisit the moment of her greatest accomplishment yet.

The new season has been challenging, but it is not stopping Richardson from believing in herself. During the Kentucky Derby, NBC released a video featuring Richardson alongside the Grammy Award-winning singer Cardi B. In the video, both talk about their love for nail art and excitement for the Paris Olympics. A determined Richardson also mentions how she is preparing for the mega event and is focused on making her mark at the Games.

She said, “I am literally training five days out of the week, to the point literally like nine to five in corporate is like my nine to five on the track working out. I ain’t going nowhere, I’m locked in, I’m working…I have no plans of letting life, adversity, any obstacle stop me from being in Paris.” 

Another expressed their excitement to see Richardson ‘knock them out’ at the Olympics.

Paris will also provide Richardson with a chance for personal redemption. Richardson was ineligible for the Tokyo Olympic 100 meters due to the suspension ending on July 27, 2021, but she could have been available for the Women’s 4 × 100 relay scheduled for August 5, 2021. However, she was not selected.

Then in 2022, she missed out on the finals of the 100 m and 200 m at the 2022 USATF Championships. As a result, did not compete at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Eugene, Oregon. Thus, come the Paris Olympics, she will be motivated to become the first American woman to win the Olympic 100m since Gail Devers did it in 1992 and 1996.

As the countdown for the US Olympic Trials begins, her supporters will be eager to see her make a splash and qualify for the Games. The women’s 100-meter final in Paris is scheduled for August 3 and Richardson will look to take inspiration from her past success and make history.