Amariyah Mallory 
Track star Sha’carri Richardson continues to break records! Richardson won the 100-meter world championship title recently, putting herself in the position to be a Paris 2024 medal contender. She ran a personal best of 10.65 seconds at the World Athletics Championships at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest.
Richardson did something that no one in the history of track has ever done. She won a world title off of a qualifying title. No woman has won this title for the U.S. in a decade.
“It felt amazing just knowing that not only [do] people see me as an athlete but as a person,” Richardson said. “I want people to see that it goes beyond [being an] athlete; you bring who you are onto the track. You bring your athlete into your life.”
Millions of people around the world went to share their joy on social media. Most notice her choice to only speak to Black journalists. Richardson did not stop any other media, saying, “No, thank you” as she walked by.
There is a lot to learn for Richardson’s career. In 2021, Richardson was suspended from Team U.S.A. for the 100-meter race and relay after testing positive for marijuana. While marijuana is not a performance-enhancing drug it is banned. Richardson accepted responsibility for her actions and explained she used the drug to cope with the sudden death of her mother.
This was not Richardson’s only challenge. The media has constantly created a misleading narrative, judging her hair, nails, and personality. After continuously being criticized she has taken a more quiet approach when it comes to her image in the media.
“It meant so much,” Richardson told a reporter from NBC Sports, adding that “hard work pays off.” Richardson added, “It’s been a lot I [have] been going through but to overcome all of that and my work speaking for itself, being so silent this year, because I wanted my performance to speak all the words that I needed to speak myself. It feels amazing, it feels like everything done paid off.” She ended the interview saying that the message she wants to send to everyone is, “I’m not back, I’m better.”
I am happy to see Richardson proving the haters wrong, and I can’t wait to see what she will accomplish in the future.
By Amariyah Mallory, Sophomore, Whitney Young
IG: Dancemari_
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