Sha’Carri Richardson is undeniably one of the most powerful and inspiring Black women of 2024.
A two-time Olympic gold medalist, two-time world track champion, and currently the fastest woman in the world, her athletic achievements have made her a household name.
But as with most trailblazing Black women, Sha’Carri Richardson’s journey has been anything but easy.
In June 2021, the 24-year-old track sensation made national headlines after qualifying for the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics by winning the women’s 100-meter race at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in Eugene, Oregon. Richardson clocked in at 10.86 seconds, securing a spot on Team USA at only 21 years old.
However, just weeks before the Games, Richardson was handed a one-month suspension after testing positive for THC, a chemical in marijuana, and ended up missing the entire Olympics.
That headline “played out” in the media for months, and while it was one of the darkest chapters of her career, the track athlete recently shared with ESSENCE for their January 2025 issue that she’s “no longer weighed down by her darkness.”
Check out some powerful excerpts from Sha’Carri Richardson’s interview below via ESSENCE:
On moving past the 2020/2021 Olympic suspension hurdle…
Sha’Carri Richardson: Coming into this level of fame—I definitely had moments where I felt as if I would have to sacrifice who I am, in order to have a career, in order to be what the world had basically deemed me to be.
And those moments were scary, because I’m like, If I can’t be me, I can’t even give you all what you respect and love me for. I wasn’t happy when I wasn’t being myself. I wasn’t happy when I was trying to listen or, I guess, take in the criticism, or defend myself from the criticism. Nothing was making me happy because I wasn’t me. But the unhappiness is what got me back to myself.
On finding liberation through intentional soul-searching, accountability, and therapy…
Sha’Carri Richardson: Liberation from darker days took soul-searching and accountability. The level of accountability necessary forced me to be the change I desperately wanted to see in my life. Such changes only came from owning my realities, embracing self-love, listening intently, learning from others, accepting correction and encouragement from my tribe, and consistently committing to therapy.
I really feel like therapy came from knowing that I needed it, and also having a safe space to decompress—where I didn’t have to worry about the world, being an athlete, being a friend, or being a daughter. I could go into therapy and just be me.
On stepping into her femininity and soft girl era…
Sha’Carri Richardson: I just feel like everything in my life is brighter now. I don’t have any darkness weighing me down, even within myself. I’m just at a different point in my life, where I’m not in survival mode—I’m in a loving energy.
I love taking care of my family. I love taking care of my training partners. I just love the fact that I’ve been blessed to be in a position to show that divine energy.
On leaning on her tribe and powerful community of Black women…
Sha’Carri Richardson: I feel like being with people who pour into me has shown me I’m everything that I know that I want to give out to the world—and I know I’m everything that I feel in myself.
There was a time I felt stuck, and now I feel like I love the softness and femininity that I’m able to walk in. I have people that—I know that if I fall backward, they’re right there. I know I have a community right here that understands, that cherishes me, as well as will correct me and let me know when I’m wrong. My relationships have definitely helped me be gentle with myself.
On walking the fine line between her emotional triumphs and triggers…
Sha’Carri Richardson: I always wear my heart on my shoulders; I always walk with my heart. My heart is my brain. My emotions are my superpower, and at the same time, they’re my kryptonite.
I cannot walk into a race without fully feeling the emotions from training, or the emotions from the motivation, or the inspiration I get from my fans, my family. So when I walk out onto the track, that is what my heart is filled with, and that is the adrenaline that gets me going. As soon as my foot, my spike, hits the track, my heart confirms that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be and who I am.
On her now-infamous stare-down…
Sha’Carri Richardson: That energy just came from everything coming up until that final moment, that being the final race of my first Olympic Games. I felt like I was going to leave it all on the track— meaning my personality, how I was feeling, how I embraced the moment, as well as how I knew I’d fought to be in that moment too.
I’m a very humble person. I really am. But I just know and trust the work that I have put in, the faith that I had.
On forging ahead and embracing her life’s mission…
Sha’Carri Richardson: I do feel like what God has put onto my spirit, my mind and my heart is to fully embrace the role He’s put me in. So, to fully embrace it. Understanding I am an athlete, understanding I am a woman, understanding I am a daughter, a sister—but understanding that none of those things are separate in themselves, and that I’m here to show people that to be their fullest self is not an issue at all.
And to continue to be their full selves in the bad moments, when you got a lot of naysayers, and in the good moments, when you got a lot of support—always remembering self-accountability, self-worth and self-reflection. God has put me here to continue to be me, and truly and wholly be me. That way I can be a vessel for anybody that sees me, for them to do the same as well.
View this post on Instagram
Dive into Sha’Carri Richardson’s phenomenal feature in full here.
