EUGENE, Ore. — Sha'Carri Richardson, a Dallas native and former LSU track star, has earned her spot on the U.S. Olympic Team after running a 10.71 in the women's 100-meter final in Oregon.
The U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials began Friday and Richardson was able to finish the preliminary round in just 10.88 seconds, despite her right shoelace being untied.
This time was the fastest recorded across all 34 sprinters at the trials.
On Saturday evening, Richardson raced in the Women's 100-meter semifinal, coming in first place after running an even faster 10.86.
Richardson raced once more in the Final and despite only needing a top-three finish to secure her spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, she finished in first place again, with her fastest time of the weekend.
Finishing right behind her, Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry came in second and third place, which means they will join Richardson on Team USA.
Richardson will now look to put her best foot forward and travel to Paris in July with hopes of securing a gold medal for her country.
Something that may have already been accomplished had she not tested positive for marijuana in 2020, which barred the athlete from competing in the Tokyo Olympics even though she won the trials that year.
Gold medal or not, Richardson will surely have the support of her hometown and the rest of her country as she looks to make history in France.
The track star's popularity and impact has only continued to grow as she has recently appeared in Netflix's docuseries, received a new brand deal with Nike, and had a local track in Dallas named after her.
The Summer Olympics officially start on July 26 with the opening ceremony and conclude on August 11.
