Sha’Carri Richardson is an Olympic gold medalist American track and field sprinter.
Richardson first rose to prominence in 2019 as a freshman at Louisiana State University, where she ran the 100-meter dash in 10.75 seconds, breaking the NCAA record and making her one of the all-time fastest 10 women in the world at age 19. In 2021, Richardson ran the 100 m in 10.72 seconds, cracking the top six fastest women in history. In August 2023, she officially became the fastest woman in the world, posting a 100 m time of 10.65 seconds.
Richardson qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo but was disqualified when her urine tested positive for cannabis. Her disqualification, as one of the most promising young runners in the world, sparked outrage and frustration, particularly in the US, over the widely known fact that cannabis is not an athletic performance-enhancer and that classifying it alongside substances like anabolic steroids makes little sense. US President Joe Biden even weighed in, suggesting that the rules should be changed regarding cannabis moving forward.
In 2023, she became the US national champion for the 100-meter dash and defended her title again in 2024, qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Internationally, Richardson won gold at the 2017 Pan American U20 Championships in Trujillo for the 100-meter relay, and at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, won two golds for the 100-meter dash and relay, as well as a bronze for the 200-meter dash.
In the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, Richardson won silver for the women’s 100-meter dash after a shocking upset from Saint Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred. Richardson went on to win the gold along with her fellow Team USA runners for the women’s 4×100 relay, running as the anchor.
Richardson is openly bisexual. In a 2015 tweet, she wrote that her family knows she is bi. In 2021, she publicly stated that she had a girlfriend and also praised the LGBT community.
In August 2024, Richardson made the cover of Vogue Magazine. She has successfully transcended the world of athletics, becoming a cultural icon on and off the track, setting trends in fashion and music, and starting conversations about authenticity in sports as a modern-time icon who refuses to fit into outdated molds.
She was included in Complex‘s list of Most Influential Female Athletes in March 2025, ranking at number four, between WNBA’s champion A’Ja Wilson and standing right behind the legendary Simon Biles. Sha’Carri is bold, she’s incredibly fast, and she’s here to stay.