Sha’Carri Richardson ran her final race of the season over the weekend. She came in fourth in the women’s 100-meter race and recorded a time of 10.80 seconds in the 2023 Diamond League Final. For the occasion, the athlete debuted her natural hair on the track.
“I will say, my coach, I told him that if I go 10.06, I’ll wear my natural hair. So, when I became the world champion, instead of a championship record, I ran a 10.65. So I had to pull out the natural,” she told reporters after the race.
When Richardson first broke onto the scene, she sported her signature orange wig. She later tossed it onto the track in a moment that went viral during the 2023 Track and Field Championships in Oregon.
View this post on Instagram
The track-and-field star recently won gold during the World Championships. She attributed her success to her falling back in love with the sport.
“I feel like for awhile, I saw this sport more as a job than the love I knew I had for it,” she said, according to USA Today. “I’m just whole all over again.”
"I had to pull out the natural."
Sha'Carri Richardson on wearing her natural hair in her final race of the track & field season. pic.twitter.com/sAJK36Wtvy
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) September 16, 2023
“I’m looking forward to competing with these ladies at their fullest health and their fullest happiness next year for the Olympics,” Richardson added. “I’m having so much more fun, and I want people to understand it is not just because of winning,” she said. “I’m having fun because I’m better within my spirit, within my mind, within my community that I created for myself. That’s the happiness that you guys see. The wins are just the bonus, but it shows when you’re whole within yourself what you will attract.”
Richardson promised “the best is yet to come.”
“I’m only 23, so just wait and see,” she said.
