Making up for lost time is a misnomer. Time can't be bought back; it's a scarce commodity that is inherently irretrievable. So Sha'Cary Richardson can't get back the years of waiting and working toward her first Olympic Games. Nor can she undo the failed marijuana test that prevented her from making her Olympic debut in 2021.
Now, as the Olympic Trials begin at the University of Oregon on Friday, all she can do is prove that the time wasn't wasted at all. It was stolen from her and turned into fuel.
Three years of waiting. Three years of stigma. Three years of delayed consecration. Now, at 24, it was time for Richardson to claim the crown that was destined for him.
And perhaps because time has passed and being conservative is not her style, Richardson declared she would compete in the 100 and 200 meters at the trials.
A top-three finish in the 100 meters at the Olympic Trials would qualify her for the Paris Games and put her on the sport's biggest stage. A repeat performance in the 200 meters could make her the first American woman since Florence Griffith Joyner (aka FloJo) to win both races in the arduous sprint. In 1988, FloJo followed up her 100 meter victory with a world record in the 200 meters (21.34 seconds), a record that still stands to this day.
For Richardson, it may be best to focus on the 100 meters, given how difficult it will be to win Olympic gold in her specialty. But if she's been waiting for this moment, why not give it a go? She's already been at the superstar status that her ability has long predicted.
In June 2021, at the Olympic Trials, which were postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, she ran the 100m final in 10.86 seconds. With a superstar finish, she came from behind to win by more than 0.1 seconds, beating Richardson. Her Olympic dream had come true.
Shakari Richardson will compete in the Tokyo Olympics!!! #TrackfieldTrial21 pic.twitter.com/M23mFqnxSq
— Team USA (@TeamUSA) June 20, 2021
However, a few weeks later, the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced that her urine sample had tested positive for marijuana. Her time at the Olympic Trials was voided and she was barred from competing in the 100 metres at the Tokyo Olympics. She admitted to having smoked marijuana while dealing with the death of her mother, and accepted a one-month ban after completing a counselling program. Although she was eligible to compete in the relay events in Tokyo, she was not selected for the national team as she was only considered to compete in the 4×100 metres relay.
Richardson became a sympathetic figure for those who thought marijuana should not be on the banned substance list (where it is today), and she became a target for those disappointed that she had not followed what many considered a simple rule, many of whom were not initially sympathetic to her flamboyant behavior.
Either way, she's still hot, and this weekend she'll have a chance to redeem herself when she returns to famed Hayward Field for the Olympic Trials.
She's still full of potential and is always a sight to behold. Her runs are powerful and her powers are breathtaking. She exudes confidence on the track and seems to know she's destined to be one of the greats. Her blend of brilliance and bravado is captivating. Talent. Hair. Nails. Eyelashes. Tattoos. Physique. Attractiveness. She's the Flo-Jo of Hip-Hop. And she's highly marketable because of it. Her sponsorship roster includes Nike, Beats by Dre, Google, Sprite and Olay.
All this without her ever even stepping onto the Olympic stage – just imagine what it would be like if she won a gold medal.
She is America's hope of challenging Jamaican women's dominance in the marquee event of sprinting.
Officially, an American woman hasn't won the 100 meters since Gail Devers in 1996. Marion Jones won in 2000 but was stripped of her gold medal after admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs during the BALCO scandal.
Shakari Richardson celebrates after winning gold in the 100m at the 2023 World Championships. She will compete in the 100m and 200m at the US Olympic Trials. (Jewel Samad/AFP via Getty Images)
Jamaica has dominated the women's field in the past four Olympic Games, with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce winning consecutive gold medals in the 100 meters in 2008 and 2012, followed by Elaine Thompson-Heller winning consecutive gold medals in the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
Jamaica has also won four of the last five gold medals in the 200 meters. Allyson Felix won the 200 meters gold medal in 2012, becoming the first American woman to win the event since 1992.
In the past 20 years, including the 2004 Olympics, Jamaican women have won 11 of the 15 medals in the 100m and another six in the 200m, meaning 17 of the 30 medals in the two major races.
Richardson beat Fraser-Pryce and Jamaica's Shericka Jackson at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest. Richardson's time of 10.65 seconds in that race is currently her personal best. In May, Richardson beat Thompson-Heller at the Prefontaine Classic. Thompson-Heller finished last in a race for the second time in eight months. The five-time Olympic medalist was injured at the New York City Grand Prix in June. The injury was severe enough that she withdrew from the 200 meters at the Jamaica Trials, ending her bid to defend her Olympic gold medal. She is still scheduled to run the 100 meters at her country's trials.
Richardson will struggle in the 200 meters. In April, she ran both 23-second races in the Diamond League 200 meters in China. Her qualifying time of 21.92 seconds, set for the 2023 World Championships, is also her personal best and the third-best among U.S. 200 meters declared for the U.S. Trials. Reigning Olympic silver medalist Gabby Thomas (21.60) and University of Mississippi breakout star Mackenzie Long (21.83) are the other Americans to have broken 22 seconds in the past year. Abby Steiner (21.77 in 2022), Jenna Prandini (21.89 in 2021) and Tamara Clark (21.92 in 2022) have also matched or beaten Richardson's time in the past.
But if Richardson breaks the American gold medal drought in the 100 and wins a second gold in the relay, she will be one of the Olympics' brightest stars and go home a hero. She will have fulfilled a prophecy of her own greatness. She will have lived up to the national expectations that have followed her since her days at Louisiana State University. The wait will have been worth it. And she will be a household name with a chance to be the greatest of all time, culminating in the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
That's what Shakari will be aiming for this weekend in Eugene. Perseverance has been on her side, but her moment of victory is just around the corner.
If now was her chance, she had no choice but to seize it.
Going deeper
Prefontaine Classic: Shakari Richardson fuels Olympic hopes, world records broken
(Top illustration: Eamon Dalton, Photo: Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
