Update: Elaine Thompson-Herah maintained her No. 1 position in the women’s 100m, running a 10.79 mark. She was followed by Sha’Carri Richardson, who did an impressive 10.92 seconds, beating Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson, who was on the heals of Richardson coming in third place. In the women’s 200m, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce retrieved the No. 1 position at 22.41 seconds. Richardson did not compete in the 200m race.
Original Publishing: No one likes greatness. Gilbert Arenas made that very clear when he recently went on the I AM Athlete podcast and spoke on Kobe Bryant’s influence.
“Greatness doesn’t want to be liked,” Arenas said. “Greatness wants to challenge everybody.”
Track and field runner Sha’Carri Richardson learned that lesson firsthand when she was shunned on social media for being too confident after winning the 100 meters race at the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials. The trolling intensified when she was subsequently barred from participating in the Tokyo Games for testing positive for a substance commonly found in cannabis.
With a whirlwind of complicated circumstances facing the vibrant runner, including the death of her biological mother, Richardson’s adversity increased when she came in last place at 11.14 seconds at the August 2021 Wanda Diamond League Prefontaine Classic held at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Jamaican runner, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who famously taunted Richardson on national television, ran a 10.73 landing in second place, while first place went to Elaine Thompson-Herah who performed her personal best at the meet, running 10.54.
Since then, Richardson has continued to be misunderstood via her social media posts, which many have taken upon themselves to interpret. On top of that, it appeared that the fiery runner went missing in action. This season alone, she pulled out of three meets.
Fast forward to May 2022, Richardson quietly entered the women’s 100 meter at the Duval County Challenge American Track League meet held at the Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. As rain poured down, she ran a not-so-impressive, but hopeful, 11.37 in the season debut.
About an hour later, Richardson and the other runners were placed to run at the opposite side of the track in an unscheduled race. Richardson was now warmed up, coming in first place at a swift 11.27 seconds. This is not her fastest time, with her personal best documented at 10.72 seconds, so it will be interesting to see her progress over the season.
Olympic champion Thompson-Herah has clocked some all time highs this season, running 10.89, 10.93, and 10.94 in the 100 meters and 200 meters races. Richardson will compete with Thompson-Herah in the 100 meters race at the Eugene, Oregon Pre Classic on Saturday (May 28).
Kobe Bryant, considered one of the greatest players in the NBA, lost more than 500 games in his storied two decade-plus career. His mantra for competition, known as “Mamba Mentality,” approaches any task with a disciplined mindset that incorporates resiliency, fearlessness, passion, obsession, and relentlessness.
The side effects of such an approach often comes off to others as arrogance, narcissism, or selfishness. However, to be the best version of yourself in the most adverse situations, there is a certain inner strength you have to unearth that requires ultimate sacrifices, including unwavering belief in yourself. Richardson has what it takes. The “IT Factor” that will stir the envy in some and fatigue in others. Now, it’s up to her to own it, not “in spite of,” but “because of.”
