In true Sha’Carri Richardson fashion, the 21-year-old glided across the women’s 100m finish line with fiery orange hair and long nails at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on Saturday, clinching a spot on Team USA for the Tokyo
Olympics.
Richardson, who identifies as bisexual, credited her girlfriend for choosing her hair color.
“My girlfriend actually picked my [hair] color,” she revealed following her victory, USA Today reported. “She said it spoke to her—the fact that it was just so loud and vibrant, and that’s who I am.”
“She just wanted me to be able to make a statement — let’s continue to show the world I’m a force to be reckoned with,” she added.
In an Aug. 2020 interview with Team USA, the Dallas native gave insight into what her various hair colors symbolize.
“Honestly, the color is based off how I want to feel,” she said. “Like the red puts me in a very dominating mood. And sometimes I feel like that can be overwhelming, so when I need to calm down — like right now — I have black hair. The black calms me, and makes me blend in instead of being extra. The blonde is for when I’m going home to Texas. Or I’ll wear it when I am away from home and wanting to feel like home.”
When asked about her nails, the former Louisiana State University athlete disclosed she wears them long and colorful to “express” herself.
“I wear my nails because I love to express myself,” she added. “I feel like my nails show who I am, and that’s that I am different but I can still get the job done.
As for her next hairstyle, Richardson kept an air of mystery for the Tokyo Games, sharing that she has plans to switch things up.
“I’ve got some tricks up my sleeve for my hair, so stay tuned,” she teased.
Richardson will be Team USA’s youngest 100m qualifier with her biggest competitor being 34-year-old and two-time Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce from Jamaica.
After coming in hot with a time of 10.86 seconds at Saturday’s trials, Richardson made sure the world knows that she doesn’t plan on slowing down anytime soon.
“I just want the world to know I’m that girl,” she told NBC Sports. “If you’ve been doing this and I step on the scene, I’m letting you know I respect you for putting on for our sport, but at the end of the day, when we get on this line, what you’ve been doing, you have to do that against me.”
Allyson Felix, a nine-time Olympic champion also acknowledged Richardson’s incredible athleticism and her full-of-life demeanor.
“I think her energy is incredible, and obviously she has so much talent,” Felix said of Richardson, NBC News reported. “It’s really fun for all of us to be able to watch her and just see that spirit of hers.”
Despite any obstacles, Richardson, who revealed that her biological mother passed away last week, is still showing up with grace and grit, allowing her skills to speak for themselves.
“The fact that I am an Olympian no matter what, a dream since I was young. Being happy is an understatement,” she said with a glowing smile. “Happy, nervous, all of those emotions.”
