Sha’Carri Richardson hasn’t listened to Usain Bolt’s advice after he made his feelings clear
Jamaican legend Usain Bolt offered some words of wisdom to American sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson prior to her appearance at the Olympics in Paris in a stern set of words
Sha’Carri Richardson was warned by track and field legend Usain Bolt that she should “train harder” before the American fell short of expectations at the Paris Olympics.
The 24-year-old missed out on competing at the previous Games in Tokyo due to suspension but had installed herself as the favorite to take gold in the 100m in France. Having earned the top prize at the World Championships in the event last year, Richardson had demonstrated her credentials to triumph in Paris.
However, the Texas-born star agonizingly had to settle for the silver medal as she finished as runner-up to Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred in the spectacle. After her chance to etch her name into the history books went begging, previous quotes from icon Bolt appeared all the more prophetic.
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Speaking to the New York Post after Richardson missed out on competing in Tokyo, he said: “I would tell Sha’Carri to train harder and to be focused and not say too much. If you talk that big talk you have to back it up. So just train hard and focus on that and try to come back do it and then talk about it.”
“Jamaicans were vexed because she was talking a lot of shit before the actual race, it is just one of those things,” he said, referencing her ninth-placed finish on her return from suspension in the 100m at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic. “Jamaicans don’t like when people talk shit about us because we are a very proud people. So if you talk about us we are gonna want you to back it up. It definitely gave those women the extra push [to win.]”
Bolt also drew a comparison in terms of his own rivalries on the track, adding: “That was my thing with Justin Gatlin—because he’s the one that was always talking—so that gives me that energy like, ‘All right you think you’re gonna win let’s go! It does give you that extra boost to wanna beat that person.”
Richardson did earn redemption in Paris in the women’s 4 x 100 relay, excelling as Team USA’s anchor leg as she propelled the quartet from third to first place in the race to earn gold. During the race, the American also made headlines as she stared down her competitors on the track.
Recalling earning her first Olympic gold, she told Refinery 29: “Honestly, that look over, if I had to just highlight anything, the look over was — it’s almost like it was a mirror on that side of me, and I’m just looking at a version of myself that nobody but me could see, if that makes sense.
“I looked over and I just knew that no matter what was going on, there was nobody that I was going to allow — even myself — to be in front of me. I know that sounds crazy, but I was in that lane and feeling like I’m always my biggest competitor [so I had to] leave my best on the track.
“I was just like, there’s no way that I’m not going to leave my best on the track. And so just looking over, it was more so showing that the hard work that all of us ladies in that 4×1 put in was not going to be in vain.”
She added: “I wasn’t going to even allow myself to not cross that finish line in first place and not get that medal, or to let down those ladies and the support that we received when it comes to us crossing the finish line, in first place as Team USA.”
