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It wasn’t long ago that Sha’Carri Richardson was on top of women’s track and field world.
The Texas native won the 2019 NCAA championship in the 100 meters and then went to the US Olympic Trials and dusted the field, running a 10.86 to win the 100 and qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
But then things quickly came crashing down.
Richardson tested positive for THC metabolites and was disqualified from the event. She faced a one-month suspension and was later not selected for the United States’ 4 x 100 relay team at the Olympics despite being eligible.
Richardson then did everything possible to destroy her reputation. She insulted Jamaican rivals Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, took dead last at Prefontaine Classic, and dissed legends of the sport Usain Bolt and Allyson Felix.
The superstar sprinter did little to help her cause, either.
Richardson made a vulgar gesture after finishing fifth in a race last summer and was involved in a bizrare incident on a plane in January.
Yet the LSU product is still just 23 years old. There’s plenty of time for her to get things sorted out. And it appears she’s on the right track toward doing just that.
Richarson returned for a Diamond League meet in Qatar last week. She sported a new, toned down looked. And she promptly dusted the field.
She ran a meet-record 10.76 to win the 100. That also marked the best time in the world in 2023.
Richardson took out stars such as Jackson, Dina Asher-Smith and reigning U.S. national champ Melissa Jefferson in the process.
The resurgent superstar posted an video on her Instagram page last week detailing her struggles and the following comeback.
“That’s why I was going through the things I was going through, the pain that I was feeling, that’s why all of these things were happening to me, and I know that now because I had to return back to my faith,” she said. “I feel so much better. That’s why y’all say I’m back — I’m not back. I’m better.”
Only time will tell whether Richardson’s is truly back, or better. But she’s certainly off to an impressive start.