Sha’Carri Richardson has had a rough couple of months. After being suspended for one month right before the start of the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for THC, she returned to the track in August at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon, only to finish last.
Richardson did a little smack talking before her return to competition but was unable to back up her talk in any way.
Richardson finished last in the field in the 100 meters with a time of 11.14 seconds, well behind the winner from Jamaica, Elaine Thompson-Herah. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson finished second and third to complete the Jamaican sweep. It was a repeat of the 100-meter race at the Tokyo Olympics for the Jamaican women.
After the race, Richardson gave a defiant interview, saying that she’s the “sixth fastest woman in this game. Ever.”
“It was a great return back to the sport. I wanted to be able to come and perform. Having a month off, dealing with all I was dealing with. I’m not upset at myself at all. This is one race, I’m not done. You know what I’m capable of. Count me out if you want to, talk all the s*** you want.”
“Congratulations to the winners, congratulations to the people that won, but they’re not done seeing me yet. Period.”
Now, the greatest track and field athlete of all-time has a message for the young star — win first, then talk.
“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,” Usain Bolt told Tashara Jones of the NY Post.
“So just train hard and focus on that and try to come back do it and then talk about it.”
At the Prefontaine Classic, Richardson was beaten by three Jamaican sprinters, who Bolt said took issue with Richardson’s trash-talking before the race.
“Jamaicans were vexed because she was talking a lot of s–t before the actual race, it is just one of those things,” he said. “Jamaicans don’t like when people talk s–t 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.]”
While Bolt told The Post that while he expected Jamaican Thompson-Herah to win, the last-place finish for Richardson surprised him.
“I actually watched the race it was on my birthday … so all my friends were there. We stopped everything just to watch the race. I knew Elaine [Thompson-Herah] was going to win.
“I knew she was going to run a fast time but I didn’t expect Sha’ Carri to come in last though.”
Bolt is an eight-time Olympic gold medalist and retired in 2017.
Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].