Sha'Carri Richardson

The orange hair, the longest nails in sprinting — and the 100m World Champion who came back from a ban.

Sha'Carri Richardson was born in Dallas, Texas in 2000. She grew up raised by her grandmother — her mother was absent during her childhood. She announced herself to the world at the 2021 US Olympic Trials with a 10.86 100m that made her the fastest American woman in the event for decades. One month before the Tokyo Olympics she tested positive for THC — cannabis — stating she had used it to cope with the news of her biological mother's death, which she learned from a journalist during a media interview. She was suspended for one month and missed the Tokyo Olympics — one of the most discussed individual absences from an Olympics in the event's history. She returned to professional competition and won the 100m World Championship in 2023 in Budapest. She won the Olympic 100m gold medal at Paris 2024 — the redemption narrative of the Games. Her personality — the orange hair, long fingernails, expressive celebrations — made her the most visually distinctive athlete in track and field. She spoke publicly about mental health, grief and the pressures facing young Black athletes throughout her return to the sport.

Explosive start and strong finishing kick in sprint events

Rising star of American sprinting with Olympic and World Championship success

• World Champion 100m (2023)
• Olympic Gold 100m (Paris 2024)
• Olympic Gold 4x100m (Paris 2024)