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With Paris 2024 Olympics on the horizon, Sha'Carri Richardson ruling out the one-season wonder narrative will be tested. Will she surpass expectations and dethrone her Jamaican rivals again or not? One thing is sure; if she succeeds, her era has only just begun.
Before the start of the 2023 season, most track and field enthusiasts didn't foresee Sha'Carri Richardson ruling the world by the end of the year.
Interestingly, after the first few weeks of the outdoor season, the American speedster showed she was in for real business and no longer a pushover among the world's best female sprinters.
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Richardson not only overcame some of the best female sprinters in history by winning the 100m title at the World Championships in Budapest, but she clocked most of the event's fastest times this year and strengthened her influence and brand visibility off-track.
The American speedster is now the world's most famous female track and field star, the world's fastest woman, and she's steadily rising through the ranks to become the fastest and most influential female athlete ever.
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18:38 - 31.10.2023
Actress Kerry Washington slays mirror look of Sha'Carri Richardson for Halloween
Kerry Washington looked gorgeous and dapper portraying Sha'Carri Richardson's 2021 look for this year's Halloween.
Despite her accomplishments, there's an ongoing discussion amongst athletics enthusiasts that her 2023 season was a fluke and she's just a one-season wonder. Are they right or the Sha'Carri Richardson era has only just begun?
Summary of Richardson's 2023 track season
The 23-year-old ran a blazing windy 10.57s (4.5m/s) in her first solo race of the season, which is the third-fastest all-conditions time in history. She proceeded and won her first Diamond League race in Doha, defeating a stacked field that included Jamaica's Shericka Jackson in 10.76s, and ended up with two more wins in Silesia and Zurich.
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18:48 - 05.05.2023
DIAMOND LEAGUE Sha'Carri Richardson blazes to a Meeting Record of 10.76s in Doha
Sha'Carri Richardson dominates another stacked field to win the women's 100m at Doha Diamond League.
Her performance in Doha ultimately proved her rediscovered form and readiness to have a memorable year, which she affirmed in a trending video afterward.
"I had to return back to my faith, and I feel so much better. That's why when you all say I'm back, I'm not back, I'm better," said Richardson.
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22:47 - 06.05.2023
Watch the trending video of Sha'Carri Richardson say she's 'back and better'
Sha'Carri Richardson revealed how she overcame her struggles, going back to her faith and that she's better this season.
Fast forward to the US Championships, victory in the 100m final and claiming the 200m silver medal secured her spot in Budapest, where she won her first world title in a blistering Championship Record (CR) of 10.65s and 200m bronze in a lifetime best of 21.92s, plus anchored Team USA to 4x100m gold also in a CR.
Budapest was her first major championship, so closing it with such impeccable performances was a testament to the fact that she's now confident of her talent and how to make it blossom.
Is Sha'Carri Richardson a one-season wonder?
On August 21, 2021 at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League, Richardson finished last place in 11.14s, thus becoming an object of ridicule on all social media platforms. After the race and soaking in all the humiliation, the speedster acknowledged she was still proud of her progress.
"Learned so much this year, lose so much this year, but not one time did I break babyyy. 21 and coming hard till I'm done," she wrote on her Instagram story.
The following year, Richardson had another season to forget - failing to make the US World Championships team in Oregon, which resulted in another online backlash centered on her being another failed, egocentric talent.
Her turnaround this year showed her growth and comeback with results of the hard work done behind the scenes in being a better athlete and better person off track.
Richardson transformed into a successful athlete, making positive headlines for everything she does, becoming a role model and influence to thousands of people, and appearing at major sporting events such as the F1 Championships in Texas.
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23:04 - 21.10.2023
Sha'Carri Richardson Track! World's fastest woman honoured by Dallas ISD
The track at John Kincaide Stadium in Dallas, Texas has been named the Sha'Carri Richardson Track by the Dallas ISD in honour of the world's fastest woman.
However, the incoming Olympic year will be a vital test in ascertaining if she's a one-season wonder or she's the force of a new era with all it takes to have an iconic career like her predecessors or Jamaican rivals in Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Jackson.
With Paris on the horizon, Richardson knows what is at stake regarding either shutting her doubters wrong or proving them right.
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19:14 - 18.10.2023
Sha'Carri Richardson: 3 growth tips that helped me become a better athlete and person
Sha'Carri Richardson was very expressive as she shared the growth tips that helped her become a better athlete and person this season.
The youngsters ability in ruling out the one-season wonder narrative is just a few months away. Whether she will surpass expectations and dethrone the Jamaicans Olympic reign again in Paris or she'll be a flop, time will tell.
One thing is sure; if she succeeds, track and field lovers have the beginning of the Sha'Carri Richardson era.
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