Setting the Track Ablaze to Restore American Glory, Sha’Carri Richardson Fills Shaquille O’Neal and Thousands With Pride

August 21 marked a historic day for American Track and Field. The world of track racing has been dominated by Usain Bolt and his fellow Jamaicans over the years. Even 2004 Olympic Gold medallist Justin Gatlin found himself chasing Bolt in almost every major racing event. The US was in dire need of its very own racing icon, and they seem to have found one. Sha’Carri Richardson, the 23-year-old sprinter, ended Jamaica’s superiority by winning the gold medal and creating history at the World Athletics Championship.

Shaquille O’Neal was spotted beaming with pride as he shared her massive achievement on Instagram. Sha’Carri Richardson has made millions of Americans proud as she finally got her redemption for missing out on the Tokyo Olympics.

Sha’Carri Richardson creates history

Sha’Carri Richardson made history in Hungary in the ongoing World Athletics Championships. Richardson won the Gold in the 100-meter dash. The Dallas native completed it in a whopping 10.65 seconds and won her first gold at the World Athletics championship just two years after getting banned from participating in the Olympics.

She set the Championship record, taking 0.02 seconds off the previous best. Shaquille O’Neal shared a clip where Richardson was spotted climbing over the finish line with effortless finesse. The clip was captioned, “We love to see it! Sha’Carri Richardson wins gold over Jamaica at the World’s 100m dash… They really tried to count her out!! I’m so so happy for her! She did that!”

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Richardson was not leading the race until the absolute end. Olympic silver medalist Shericka Jackson was all set to bag the gold medal until Sha’Carri came out of nowhere to reach the finish line earlier than her Jamaican counterpart.

Sha’Carri did the absolutely impossible considering the fact that she didn’t even qualify for the 2022 World Championships. However, Richardson’s path to the 2023 World Championships was not an easy one.

Sha’Carri Richardson’s road to the 2023 world championships

Sha’Carri Richardson started her outdoor racing season in April when she finished the 100-meter dash with an impressive record of 10.57 seconds. But the tailwind was above what was allowable. She then beat Shericka Jackson in the Diamond League meet in Doha and again in Poland.

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She was initially touted as America’s best prospect for the Olympics in 2021 but was later banned as she tested positive for marijuana. It’s quite evident that Sha’Carri has come a long way since she got banned from the Olympics and failed to qualify for the World Championships last year. It’ll be interesting to keep an eye out for what the World Champion does in the future.