I’ll never forget the feeling of being on a track: The excitement of warming up, the touch of your spiked shoes hitting the back of the starting block as you take your place, and the adrenaline that rushes through your body as you anxiously await the sound of the gun. I never imagined I’d feel the same excitement again until I watched the 2024 Paris Olympics. This time, it wasn’t me competing, but someone I’ve respected since I began racing: Sha’Carri Richardson.
On Aug. 3, Richardson placed second in the women’s 100-meter final at the 2024 Olympic Games, earning a silver Olympic medal in her debut. However, headlines after her race focused on her “failure” to win gold and being overshadowed by Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred’s victory. After being prohibited from competing in the 2020 Olympic Games due to testing positive for marijuana use, Richardson has aspired to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics. After qualifying for the event, Richardson said in an interview following the U.S. Nationals in 2023, “I’m not back; I’m better.”
Seeing her compete in the 2024 Summer Olympics proved to me that she had successfully achieved that statement. Being a long-time fan of hers made me relive my high school moments — both fond memories and regrets.
To give a brief context into my track and field journey, we need to start from my elementary school days. As a kid, my favorite game was tag, and I especially loved being “it.” I loved racing my friends and losing track of time in a lively sprint. During parent-teacher conferences, one thing I distinctly remember was my teachers telling my parents, “Siobhan can really run; you should sign her up for track and field.”
I was also heavily influenced by my dad and older brother, the sporty members of my family — my dad competed in track and field in high school, and my brother was involved in both football and track and field during his high school years. In 2016, when I was in high school, the question on everyone’s mind was if I would follow in their footsteps. My sophomore year, I did just that and joined the track and field team.
I specialized in sprinting, specifically the 100-meter, 200-meter, and 4 x 1 relay events. One thing I discovered early on was that, while everyone was right in believing that I could run fast, I couldn’t run for long due to my low stamina, which became noticeable during exercises. In practices, I was always one of the last people to finish miracle miles (for my school, it was just a mile that included running up and down the bleachers).
I often finished last during these drills, which led to constant judgment from the coach. My slow efforts in practice began affecting my participation in competitions. Although I excelled in the shortest-metered sprints, my coach frequently placed me in the 400-meter and field events like the long jump and high jump, despite my lack of specific training in either of those areas.
For a long time, this damaged my confidence because it felt like people around me were not going to take a chance on me due to my performance in practice. During this time, watching other people’s track and field competitions calmed down my fears and helped me mentally. This is when I came across Richardson.
I would watch videos of Richardson from her time on the Dallas Carter High School track team to her commitment to LSU. At the time, she was a newcomer to the track and field world, but her abilities were evident. What I appreciated the most was Richardson’s commanding presence on the track and her confidence in proving that she deserves recognition. Watching her race footage motivated me to show myself to my teammates and, more importantly, my coaches. I gradually began to win when I raced in sprinting events, and my coach took notice. Later in my sophomore year, I made the varsity team, which I remained part of until my senior year.
Looking back at my time in high school, I realized that I had a lot of underlying regrets. I wished I had been more sure of myself and not lacked self-confidence, especially when it came to running. I also wished I had put more effort into proving myself to those who questioned my capabilities. I believe watching Richardson’s event in the 100-meter relay for Paris was a way for my inner self to heal. Richardson represents overcoming trial and error and showing that your past does not define your future. Her winning an Olympic silver medal is much more than just achieving second place; it’s proof that determination can get you far.