Sha’Carri Richardson did that.
On Saturday, Juneteenth, the 21-year-old Dallas, Texas native burned up the track at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field, winning the women’s 100-meter dash finals at the U.S. Olympic trials and securing her spot at the Tokyo Games. Her time? 10.86 seconds. Her title? The fastest woman in America. Her spirit? Unapologetic.
You see, her speed wasn’t the only thing fire about her performance at the biggest meet of her life. Ya’ girl posted up with lashes for days; long, pink ombre nails dotted with stars and rhinestones; her signature colorful hair, a blazing orange hue this time, chosen by her girlfriend because it’s “loud and vibrant“; and tattoos and piercings, the accents of her full-on fierceness. She gave a master class in #carefreelbackgirl realness, and we love to see it.
Not only that, but Sha’Carri reached her win while coping with some heavy news: the passing of her mother just days earlier. “Emotionally, [it’s] unbelievable! The fact that I am an Olympian no matter what is said or anything. I am an Olympian … Being happy is an understatement.” she told NBC Sports in a post-race interview. “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 making sure to make the family that I do still have on this earth proud … Without [my family and my coach], there would be no me. Without my grandmother, there would be no Sha’Carri Richardson. So, my family is my everything, my everything until the day I’m done.”
Placing on a team destined for the Olympics has been this Nike athlete’s dream since forever, and according to The Washington Post, she got it from her Mama, who’d collected her own rack of medals as a track star. Throughout her journey, Sha’Carri, too, has shown her skill has absolutely no chill. In high school, she won titles at the AAU Junior Olympics and the USA Track & Field Junior Championships in 2016 and 2017, respectively. As a freshman at Louisiana State University in 2019, she slayed the women’s 100m at the NCAA Championships, breaking the collegiate record with a time of 10.75 seconds. That same year, she decided to leave LSU and go pro to make her Olympic dreams a reality, and this past April, she shattered her own record, coming in at 10.72 seconds at the Miramar Invitational in Florida.
We are all the way here for the #blackgirlmagic that will be on full display when Team USA’s track and field squad takes the turf at Tokyo’s National Stadium. Besides Sha’Carri, Javianne Oliver and Teahna Daniels will also make their Olympic debut. We’re hype to watch them all go for Olympic gold — with Sha’Carri rockin’ the hair color, nails, and makeup to match that winning shade as she crosses the finish line, of course.
Watch her historic win on repeat below:
Main Photo: YouTube Screenshot
