“…nobody but them and my coach know what I go through on a day-to-day basis,” Sha’Carri Richardson once said. But the 2024 Prefontaine Classic set the stage for the star to dispel doubts about her form. With a blazing start, it took her just 10.83 seconds to win the 100-meter race. Her victory came in a stacked Hayward Field against elite competitors like Elaine Thompson-Herrah and Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith.

So, how could the American sprinter exclude the woman who has always been in her corner no matter what? Of course, she couldn’t. So she ran to the stands at the Hayward field to hand over her winning bouquet to her grandmother, Betty Harp. In her IG post, SCR shared images of her gifting the prize bouquet to Betty after her much-needed victory. “Keeping the main thing, the main thing!” her caption read.

That once again fulfilled Richardson’s wish “to have her see me compete in one of the highest levels, and be successful.” But her action instantly matched up with the moment at the 2021 Olympic trials at the same Hayward Field. She successfully found her place on the Olympic team that would represent America in the Tokyo Olympics. And the first person she wanted to thank was her grandmother. So Richardson ran to her in the stands and hugged her.

On that occasion, a smiling Betty Harp witnessed her granddaughter securing the Olympic spot after clocking a time of 10.86s in 100m. It seemed as if years of support and unconditional affection from Harp culminated in a win. Later on, SCR said, “Without my grandmother, there would be no Sha’Carri Richardson,” admitting Betty Harp’s role in her life. Three years later, the warmth between the two remains the same. For Richardson, it seems like a tradition- to hug her family in the stands!

Betty Harp was omnipresent throughout Sha’Carri Richardson’s journey 

The bond started to build up right from Sha’Carri Richardson’s childhood when Betty Harp sowed the winning target in her. Narrating that, the athlete had once said that her granny was making a plaque full of medals for her mother. SCR was understandably lured by that and asked one for herself. Betty created a target for her granddaughter by asking her to earn the medals.

That shook her tender mind. “And honestly, from then on, it was just like, ‘If you want to do something, if you want to be great, you got to put your all into it’,” recalled Richardson. With that, Betty brought her to that place where she would find her peace despite every struggle in her life. “No matter what was going on in my life when I went to the track it was always track. It takes me to this place where I’m just at peace.”

In her grandma, she found that motherly love that brought her back from the brink of committing suicide when she was a junior in high school. When her mother passed away, the athlete felt alone. She felt extremely uncertain about the changes in her life. That’s when Betty and her aunt, Shayaria Richardson, were there for her. Yet, the athlete was emotionally fragile back then. “Are you going to leave me to?” she asked her aunt.

However, Shayaria Richardson reassured her that she would always have a home. While it took time, Richardson eventually trusted her grandma and aunt. Riding on that love Sha’Carri Richardson proved herself in the Prefontaine Classic 2022, by bagging the second position, Since then, there has been no looking back for the star.

Her recent win once again reminded people of the role of her grandma in this transformation. Sha’Carri Richardson now harbors no second thoughts while accepting, “I’m highly grateful for them. Without them, there would be no me.” Now standing at the juncture of creating history, Sha’Carri Richardson will need the support line more than ever. What do you think?