Paris (AFP) – Sha’Carri Richardson’s talent is not in doubt as her stunning 100 metres world title in 2023 proved, but the American star is also like a moth to a flame when it comes to controversy. The 25-year-old just cannot escape sparking headlines off the track. Richardson was controversially barred from the delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after testing positive for marijuana following her victory at the US trials. She arrives in Tokyo for the defence of the world crown on the back of another headline-making incident.
She spent a night in jail after being arrested for domestic violence when she had an altercation with her boyfriend, fellow sprinter Christian Coleman, at an airport before this year’s US trials in August. She scratched from the 100m at the trials and failed to reach the final in the 200m, but her place in the team for Tokyo was assured as a defending champion, although her best 100m time this season of 11.05sec leaves her way outside the favourites. Coleman, who will be in Japan too as a member of the men’s sprint relay team, refused to press charges and defended her. “She has things that she needs to work on for herself of course. So do I, so do you, so does everybody,” he told AFP.
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Richardson later apologised to Coleman and admitted she was seeking help. “I’m taking this time to not only see myself but get myself a certain level of help that overall is going to reflect who I truly am in my heart and my spirit,” she said.
Richardson could not cut a more contrasting figure to that of her compatriot, Olympic 200m champion Gabby Thomas, although both hail from disadvantaged backgrounds. The clean-cut Thomas is a Harvard graduate, brought up by a single mother, who was then a teacher and is now a professor. Richardson, who has cultivated a striking image with long multi-coloured nails and tattooed arms, was brought up by her grandmother Betty Harp and an aunt. “My family has kept me grounded,” she has said.
However, while Thomas — who will sit out these championships due to injury — had a loving mother, Richardson yearned for that maternal love. In her apology to Coleman, she revealed “due to my past trauma and pain, I was blind and blocked off to not only receive it (unconditional love), but give it.” In a video posting in 2023, she explained: “Not having that bond of my biological mother during the transition of me getting older…I think that’s what really got me.” She was supposed to be my world and now that she wasn’t there I usually asked myself ‘Why am I here?’ It really took me to a very dark place. When I was a junior in high school, I tried to commit suicide.”
Richardson has a tendency of shooting from the hip and her hackles are easily raised. Such was the case in a bitter break-up with her one-time Jamaican girlfriend, 100m hurdler Janeek Brown, with whom she became embroiled in a bitter claim and counter-claim of mental, physical and verbal abuse. Brown said Richardson’s going public about the relationship had been “malicious and calculated.” It was a far cry from happier times when Richardson delighted Brown by sporting LGBTQ+ colours after winning the 100m at the US trials in 2021.
Nevertheless, Richardson has plenty of people who admire her for wearing her heart on her sleeve. One of those is US track legend Michael Johnson. “The thing with Sha’Carri is her purpose, talent and personality make her very interesting to watch,” he told The Times last year. “She is out there and can be abrasive, but she can be very charming too. She is a reflection of where society is heading. We crave authenticity and we don’t want fake anymore.”
© 2024 AFP
