On August 9, the sprinter steered the U. Following Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry, and Gabby Thomas, Richardson anchored the team to gold, finishing the last stretch of the race with a Great Britain came in second place, winning the silver, while Germany took home the bronze. At the World Athletics Championships, Richardson set a new world record of While her Olympic dreams were put on hold after being disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics due to a failed drug test, Richardson has made quite the comeback and is leaving the Paris Games with two Olympic medals under her belt.
Stream the Olympics on Peacock. She was born and raised in Dallas, where she began running at age 9 and became a successful sprinter in middle school and high school. Richardson then attended Louisiana State University for one year before turning professional in The runner has also gained attention for her bold fashion and beauty aesthetics, garnering comparisons to the late track star Florence Joyner.
Instead, she was raised by her grandmother, Betty Harp, and aunt Shayaria Richardson, whom she calls her mother. Richardson was inspired to start running at a young age. I want you to bring me one, Granny. An active child whom Shayaria described as a tomboy, Richardson spent her time at cheer and dance practices, playing football with neighborhood boys, and of course, running.
She was committed. Richardson began competing in track races during middle school, where she won regional and state championships. In , she gained national recognition as a sophomore at David W. Richardson committed to running at Louisiana State University in After graduating high school the following year, Richardson was the No. As a freshman at Louisiana State University, Richardson won her first NCAA title in and set a new collegiate record for the meter dash, recording a time of With a record under her belt, Richardson decided to withdraw from the university and set her sights even higher.
She made the announcement on X formerly Twitter in June Richardson became a professional runner in That same year, she signed a contract deal with Nike. She specializes in the and meter dash. In June , Richardson qualified for the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Summer Olympics after she won the meter final at the U. Olympic Team Trials for track and field. After crossing the finish line and running into the stands, she shared an emotional moment with her grandmother.
