Sha’Carri Richardson, the 24-year-old sprinter, usually heads to central Florida’s luxurious Montverde Academy daily to join her teammates on the school’s pristine track. According to coach Dennis Mitchell, practice runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., rain or shine. This morning, the rest of the athletes are present, warming up under a cloudy sky.
However, Richardson is at the dentist for an emergency involving novocaine and painkillers. “We’ll see if she shows,” Mitchell says with a shrug. For most people, a dental emergency is a valid reason to skip practice, watch Netflix, and enjoy some ice cream. But Sha’Carri Richardson is not most people. She is an Olympic-caliber athlete, a favorite for gold at this summer’s Paris Games, and the fastest woman in the world.
Sure enough, two hours later, she arrives. Her gold nails gleam as she laces up her sneakers and starts a quick warm-up jog. From the bleachers, it’s evident that track practice feels a bit like a movie set there’s a lot of milling around, chatting, and staying energized while waiting for your turn. “Set ’em up!” Mitchell calls out, and a few runners take their places on the blocks to repeatedly run the same 100, 200, or 400 meters.
When Richardson arrives, it’s like a movie star showing up for her scene focused and ready to work. Her presence boosts everyone’s performance. “Set ’em up!” Mitchell calls again, and this time Richardson takes off, a five-foot-one dynamo crossing the 100-meter finish line in the blink of an eye.
As she walks back to the starting line, she briefly presses a hand to her swollen cheek, acknowledging that, as usual, Sha’Carri Richardson is running through the pain.
“You keep showing up,” Richardson says. “No matter what. Most people only think about track once every four years. The Olympics, that’s all they see those brief moments on TV. But for me, track is my everyday life. Everything I do what I eat, what I drink, if I stay up too late affects my performance on the track. Every choice matters. That’s what people don’t see.”
Richardson talks as fast as she runs. Initially, she’s reserved, assessing you with a cautious look. Then, the “bubbly” Sha’Carri her own term emerges, and words start flowing, gaining speed as she discusses her passions. Running, naturally.
Her signature long nails. Beyoncé. “Do I like Beyoncé? Of course, I like Beyoncé. And Cowboy Carter, I mean, I went to Carter High School in Dallas, we were the Carter Cowboys, so it’s full circle. Beyoncé, she’s a Texas girl like me….” When Richardson talks about her family, she speaks rapidly, as if that’s her way of expressing love—through speed.
While spending a day at the track in Florida, I ask Coach Mitchell what he wants Richardson to focus on when she takes the blocks in Paris. Every runner is different, he says; with Sha’Carri, “it’s business.” Go out there and get the job done.
Later, when I ask Richardson what goes through her mind when she’s on the blocks, waiting for the starter pistol, she uses the same phrase: Get the job done. Then she pauses a rare break in her fast-paced speech and explains what “getting the job done” means to her. It’s about winning, yes, but it’s also about honoring the little girl who used to run up the hill to Big Momma’s car.
“Every time I step onto the track, I think of all those moments when I was younger all those feelings are still with me; I’m just that little girl grown up,” Richardson explains. “It’s almost like a flashback journey, everything that brought me to this point. All the grind, all the sacrifice. And there’s a feeling that this moment is special because all of that, the good and the bad, has brought me here. And I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.”
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