Dawn Staley Reminds Sha’Carri Richardson of Ultimate Title That Once Put Her on Same Pedestal As Caitlin Clark

South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley loves Sha’Carri Richardson. And why wouldn’t she? The track and field star is America’s favorite walking into the Paris Olympics. This led the coach to bestow on the 24-year-old a title that fans would agree with!

On August 1st, Staley shared a post featuring a cheerful picture of her and Sha’Carri Richardson having a great time together. SCR sported a black tank top, while Dawn wore a t-shirt, and both were beaming with bright smiles. What caught everyone’s eye, however, was the caption: “Coach, there’s a GOAT here! No, Coach, there’s a GOAT here!! @itsshacarri.”

Two legends share the same frame. Dawn Staley is the highest-paid black female basketball coach, with Olympic gold medals and Hall of Fame honors to her name. She led the South Carolina Gamecocks to NCAA championship titles in 2022 and 2024. This year, her undefeated team drew a record-breaking 18.7 million viewers to the NCAA women’s championship game. When Staley refers to Sha’Carri Richardson as a “GOAT,” it’s a nod of respect from one powerhouse to another.

But did you know that Staley had also dubbed Caitlin Clark a “GOAT” before this? It definitely proves that she has a keen eye for greatness and she isn’t afraid to call a spade a spade.

It happened when the South Carolina Gamecocks clinched their third NCAA women’s basketball national championship in April 2024 with an 87-75 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes. Dawn Staley took little to no time to reflect on her unabashed praise for Caitlin Clark, stating, “So, Caitlin Clark, if you’re out there, you are one of the GOATs [greatest of all time] of our game, and we appreciate you.”

Clearly, Staley loves to encourage her fellow female athletes because this isn’t the first time Staley has dubbed Sha’Carri Richardson the “GOAT.” In April of this year, after winning the championship, Staley had planned to head to Disney World to celebrate, but she decided to take a detour and set her sights on Paris instead. There, she crossed paths with Sha’Carri Richardson. They were both in the City of Light for the UEFA Champions League match between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona.

Staley later shared a photo of them on X with the caption, “And another one….GOAT that is! @itsshacarri.” 

After all, both Caitlin Clark and Sha’Carri Richardson have played a very crucial role in elevating their respective sports in their own, unique ways.

Sha’Carri Richardson’s sprint for victory vs. Caitlin Clark’s historic NCAA achievements

The women’s 100m world champion, Sha’Carri Richardson, clinched the spot with a powerful display of agility at the 2023 World Athletics Championships held in Budapest, Hungary—A victory that resulted in crowning her as the woman in the 100m event for that year, clocking in at 10.65 seconds. Apart from her gold achievement in that 100m race, she also secured a bronze medal in the 200m event, going on to play a role as a member of the gold-winning 4x100m relay team. However, that’s not even the tip of the iceberg.

Richardson then started her 2024 season with a 100m race on May 25- A time that showed her progress in improving her clock speed from 10.83 seconds. Just close to a month later, on June 22, she clocked a seasonal best of 10.71 seconds, making it the fastest time in the 100m event. Her personal bests stand at 10.65 seconds/100m race and 21.61 seconds/200m race, respectively. But how does that help her be compared to Caitlin Clark, you might ask?

Well, while Caitlin Clark has truly set the court on fire with her accomplishments. Saying that she lights the court up in flames with her presence does little to no justice to her game. She was the first Division-I player to record over 3,800 points, more than 1,000 assists, and over 950 rebounds in her career, with an average of 28.4 points per game and 538 made three-pointers, both of which are NCAA Division I records, as noted by the Indiana Fever’s website. It led her to become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer on February 15, 2024, in her 126th career game against Michigan, eclipsing Kelsey Plum. As it is evident by now, both athletes exhibit talent.

The next few days will be quite important for the track and field star. On August 2, when she competed in the Women’s 100m preliminary round and secured a victorious clock speed of 10.94 seconds. Now advancing to the semi-final scheduled for August 3, the anticipation is building for what awaits Richardson.

Do you think she will claim the gold in Paris? Let us know in the comments below!