Many of us were very disappointed to see Sha’Carri Richardson robbed of her opportunity to compete for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics this summer over some damn weed. She was seen as a favorite to medal for the U.S. and is still seen as a rising star in the 100 meter event.
Well, for those of us who love track and field or who simply want to see an American sistah compete, the Wall Street Journal reports that Richardson will see action Aug. 21 at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, where she will square off against Team Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Shericka Jackson.
All three will have come off of winning gold, silver, and bronze, respectively, in the Tokyo Olympics 100m final. Richardson, 21, was set to compete in the event before being disqualified for that whack-ass weed test.
Thompson-Herah is a beast, breaking the late, great Florence Griffith Joyner’s decades-old olympic record of 10.62 with a time of 10.61 seconds. What made Thompson-Herah’s time even more impressive was that she ran into a headwind of 0.6 m/s. Fraser-Pryce came in second place with 10.74 seconds, and Jackson finished third with 10.76 seconds.
At the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships in April, Richardson ran a personal best time of 10.72, an impressive time for that time of the year and would have gotten her the silver medal had she clocked it in the Olympic finals. That April time was the fourth-fastest time ever by an American woman and the six-fastest time ever among female runners, according to the Washington Post.
Track and field is far more popular in Europe than in the United States, but Richardson has swag, speed and that colorful hair that flags behind her as she blazes to her first place finishes meet after meet.
If you cannot tell, I am hyped for this race next week. Richardson is the future of the women’s 100 meter event and she will likely prove that next week because she ain’t scared of nobody.
She said as much during a semi-final race in April when she told an interviewer that, “I want the world to know I am that girl.”
“I use my age as, honestly, an intimidating factor,” Richardson said at the trials, according to the Post. “If you’ve been doing this and I step on the scene, I’m letting you know I respect you for putting on for our sport. But at the end of the day, when we get on this line, what you’ve been doing, you have to do that against me.”
Team Jamaica, “that girl” is coming for y’all.