Sha'Carri Richardson: 5 facts about the fastest woman in the world headed to her first Olympics

Sha'Carri Richardson won't be denied this time

For the Paris Olympics this summer, For The Win is helping you get to know some of the star Olympians competing on the world’s biggest stage. We’re highlighting 15 Team USA athletes in the 15 days leading up to the Opening Ceremony. Up first is Sha’Carri Richardson.

Missing out on the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games may have been the best thing to happen for Sha’Carri Richardson.

Since that moment, she’s come back better and faster than ever. In fact, she’s the fastest woman in the world right now. Richardson is the new face of the women’s 100-meter race for the United States.

Will she win gold in August? We’ll have to see. In the meantime, here are five things you should know about her before the competition.

1. Sha’Carri Richardson was barred from competing in the 2021 Olympics

Sha’Carri Richardson wins the first round of the women’s 200 meters during day seven of the U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., on Thursday, June 27, 2024.Ê

After failing a drug test, Richardson was barred from competing in the 2021 Olympic Games.

She won the 100-meter Olympic trials race in June 2021 and would’ve had a spot on the roster, but she tested positive for marijuana, which is still a banned substance under the World Anti-Doping Agency. She was suspended for a month, which removed her from consideration for the Games. She later issued a public apology for what happened.

2. She won U.S. Olympic trials again in 2024

Richardson won her Olympic trial runs again this year, running a 10.71 in the final heat.

Sha’Carri Richardson runs the fastest 100m in the world this year to qualify for the #ParisOlympics! pic.twitter.com/ke9xz7EZ7H

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 23, 2024

Richardson’s time is the fastest in the world this year to qualify. She beat out:

• Jacious Sears (10.77)
• Julien Alfred (10.78)
• Melissa Jefferson (10.80)
• Sherika Jackson (10.84)
• Tia Clayton (10.86)

That’s some impressive stuff.

Richardson finished fourth at U.S. trials in the 200-meter race and missed qualifying by .26 seconds.

3. She celebrated with her family immediately after winning

The moments after Richardson qualified for the race were so precious. She immediately ran to her grandmother in the stands and embraced her in tears.

What a sweet moment.

A family moment for Sha’Carri Richardson that will last a lifetime. #TrackFieldTrials24 pic.twitter.com/WyZCgyE6S0

— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) June 23, 2024

Richardson was raised by her grandmother, Betty Harp. Her mother died just a week before the Olympic trials in 2021, which is another reason why her exclusion was just so heartbreaking.

4. She set a world championship record for the women’s 100m

Richardson ran a 10.65 100-meter race at the Track and Field World Championships in Budapest in 2023. That was the fastest time in the history of the race at the event.

Afterward, Richardson dropped this absolutely golden quote: “I’m not back. I’m better.”

@nbcolympics

“I’m not back. I’m better.” Sha’Carri Richardson wins the national championship in the women’s 100m. #track #usatf #running #shacarririchardson

♬ original sound – NBC Olympics & Paralympics

She’s absolutely right.

5. Richardson’s Olympic journey starts on August 2

Richardson and the rest of the Women’s 100m competition will start their journeys on August 2 at 4 a.m. ET. The final will be held on August 3.