Sha’Carri Richardson came in first in the 100-meter finals at the 2023 World Championship in Budapest, Hungary. Her gold medal asserts her status as a track-and-field champion and makes her participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics all the more likely.

The 23-year-old athlete set a personal record of 10.65 seconds on Monday night. She came in ahead of Jamaican sprinters Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

“I’m honored, I’m blessed, I had great competition, [which] pulled the best out of me, and I’m just honored to leave with a gold medal,” Richardson said following the race, according to NBC News.

“I’m going to stay humble,” she added. “I’m not back. I’m better, and I’ll continue to be better.”

Her win cements her progressive achievements on the track in the past few months. During last year’s U.S. Track and Field Championships, Richardson had not reached the final.

“‘I’m just so proud of her because a year ago we were light-years away from a full package of being able to compete at this level, and she’s put in the work,” Renaldo Nehemiah, her agent, said.

 

During the competition, Richardson shared that she has been focusing on herself when it comes to performance. She told NBC Sports she is no longer worried about the opinions of others since being banned from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 after testing positive for THC.

“I’m not worried about the world anymore,” Richardson said. “I’ve seen the world be my friend. I’ve seen the world turn on me. But at the end of the day, I’ve always been with me. God has always been with me, so being on this scale now, it’s my time.”

“It’s always been my time, but now it’s my time to actually do it for myself and the people that feel like me, the people that look like me, and the people that know the truth about themselves as well. I represent those people,” she added.

Richardson pretended to wipe sweat off her brow as she crossed the finish line on Sunday. It is one of many viral moments that cemented the athlete’s status as a high achiever in the sport and a voice in pop culture. Last month, she made headlines for tossing her signature orange wig before finishing first in the 100m and ultimately qualifying for the World Championships.

The 23-year-old athlete has been using her platform to advocate for her peers in athleticism. She was among many to call out NBC’s decision not to air the U.S. Championship last month. Richardson has also been a staunch advocate for athletes’ fair pay by utilizing her social media presence and organizing meetings with her fellow track-and-field athletes.

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