Emotional Farewell Looms as Sha’Carri Richardson Set to Leave USA After Kenyan Heritage Revelation…..
Sha’Carri Richardson issued stark warning by Usain Bolt as she ignores his advice
Sha’Carri Richardson was the favorite to win the 100m at the Paris Olympics but had to settle for silver as she was unable to back up her pre-race comment
Track and field titan Usain Bolt had some sage advice for Sha’Carri Richardson, telling her to “train harder” before she narrowly missed out on gold at the Paris Olympics.
Despite being a favorite for the 100m event in France after clinching the title at the World Championships last year, the American sprinter could only secure a silver medal, finishing behind Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred. The words of wisdom from Bolt, who spoke to the New York Post following Richardson’s suspension that kept her from Tokyo, now ring especially true.
Bolt had advised: “I would tell Sha’Carri to train harder and to be focused and not say too much. If you talk that big talk you have to back it up. So just train hard and focus on that and try to come back do it and then talk about it.”
Jamaicans were vexed because she was talking a lot of shit before the actual race, it is just one of those things,” he said, referencing her ninth-placed finish on her return from suspension in the 100m at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic. “Jamaicans don’t like when people talk shit about us because we are a very proud people. So if you talk about us we are gonna want you to back it up. It definitely gave those women the extra push [to win.]”
Bolt also drew a comparison in terms of his own rivalries on the track, adding: “That was my thing with Justin Gatlin-because he’s the one that was always talking-so that gives me that energy like, ‘All right you think you’re gonna win let’s go! It does give you that extra boost to wanna beat that person.”
Richardson did earn redemption in Paris in the womens 4 x 100 relay, excelling as Team USA’s anchor leg as she propelled the quartet from third to first place in the race to earn gold. During the race, the American also made headlines as she stared down her competitors on the track.
Recalling earning her first Olympic gold, she told Refinery29: “Honestly, that look over, if I had to just highlight anything, the look over was – it’s almost like it was a mirror on that side of me, and I’m just looking at a version of myself that nobody but me could see, if that makes sense.”
She explained: “I looked over and I just knew that no matter what was going on, there was nobody that I was going to allow – even myself – to be in front of me. I know that sounds crazy, but I was in that lane and feeling like I’m always my biggest competitor [so I had to] leave my best on the track.
“I was just like, there’s no way that I’m not going to leave my best on the track. And so just looking over, it was more so showing that the hard work that all of us ladies in that 41 put in was not going to be in vain.”
She added: “I wasn’t going to even allow myself to not cross that finish line in first place and not get that medal, or to let down those ladies and the support that we received when it comes to us crossing the finish line, in first place as Team USA.”
