Fans have praised Sha’Carri Richardson’s “epic” wave as she crossed the finishing line and became the 2023 World Championship for the women’s 100mm.
After missing the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive a month before the competition, Richardson, 23, made a comeback nothing short of epic in Budapest on 21 Aug. There, she won her first title at a world track and field championship.
Richardson ran 100m in 10.65 seconds, securing herself the gold. Shericka Jackson, an Olympic and world champion winner, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce came in second and third place, respectively.
An hour after zooming across the finish line, Richardson came across as elated and in disbelief as she spoke to the press. On her victory, the track star said, “It’s surreal. I think in the morning I’ll probably feel it.”
“These last three years, I’ve shown you what I can do,” Richardson told the press at a May news conference at the Los Angeles Grand Prix. “It just was me that was standing in my way. Now I’m with myself.”
Richardson’s comeback has been in the works for quite some time. In April, she ran 10.57 seconds, which wasn’t considered her best because of a tailwind. Richardson defeated Jackson twice before the World Championships: in April, when she won the 100m at the Diamond League in Qatar, and in July, when she won another Diamond League meet in Poland.
The world champion first became a sensation in June 2021 on Hayward Field at the University of Oregon, where she won the 100m dash at the national championships with 10.86 seconds. Only a month prior, Richardson had run the 100m dash at 10.72 seconds, which became the sixth-fastest women’s 100 meters in history. At the time, America crowned her as its next track star and an Olympic hopeful to boot. Those dreams were dashed when the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced that Richardson had tested positive for marijuana on 1 July 2021. She was suspended from competing for 30 days, which meant that competing at the Olympics that year was out of the question.
At this year’s national championships on July 6, Richardson put on her game face and won the competition with 10.86 seconds and her signature flair. As she ran through qualifying heats and semifinals, Richardson wore the orange wig she had worn in the last national championships. When the track star was announced as the winner, she threw her wig off to thunderous applause.
As she made her final stride to win the gold at the World Championship, the runner imbued her victory with a proud little wave, which fans loved.
One user called her wave “epic” and said they were “glad to see her find gold,” while another excitedly wrote: “Shacarri Richardson is now the fastest woman in the world!”
Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III tweeted: “Sha’Carri Richardson just beat one of the most decorated Women’s 100m fields of all time to become a World Champion. Doubted all year. Barely made the final. BUT DELIVERED a personal best and CHAMPIONSHIP RECORD when it matter most. Her haters are in shambles.”
With her quick quips at the press conference after the world championship meet, Richardson continued to make both fans and third-place winner Fraser-Pryce laugh. When asked how she stays focused by a reporter, the champion replied: “Blocking out media like yourself and just continuing to go forward I feel great.”
What struck viewers the most, however, was Richardson’s humility. “I’m honored, I’m blessed,” she told another reporter, noting that she was surrounded by “great competition”. “Just honoured to leave with a gold medal.”
