How Sha'Carri Richardson is learning to stay 'patient' slowing down in a fast-paced environment

Sprint queen Sha'Carri Richardson

How Sha'Carri Richardson is learning to stay 'patient' slowing down in a fast-paced environment

Funmilayo Fameso 16:12 - 18.06.2025

Sha'Carri Richardson is learning to take in the realities of slowing down in her career despite being in a fast-paced environment.

As an established sprinter, Sha'Carri Richardson has only been ever used to one thing in her life - fast. So when the reality of having to slow down dawns in, does she adapt or learn to grow around it?

This is the present phase of the American track queen, who has to find a way to manage the expectations of living a fast life and give herself the grace to slow things down when the need arises.

Sha'Carri Richardson became the world 100m champion at the 2023 world championships in Budapest

Richardson can arguably be referred to as the world's fastest woman, being the reigning world champion in the women's 100m event - a title she won at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest in a record time of 10.65s.

Not resting on her oars, a year later, at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, she etched her name on the 100m silver medal and emphatically ran the anchor leg to a blazing gold medal for the American 4x100m team alongside Gabby Thomas, Twanisha Terry, and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden.

Gabby Thomas, Sha'Carri Richardson, Twanisha Terry and Melisa Jefferson.
From L-R: Sha'Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Twanisha 'TeeTee' Terry' and Melissa Jefferson after winning gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics

Richardson's off-track activities have also been on a fast-paced level. From ambassadorial duties of appearing in Nike's "So Win" Super Bowl commercial, alongside other powerful athletes, including Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark and Las Vegas Aces forward A'ja Wilson, to walking the 2025 Met Gala carpet and bagging more partnership deals, her life has been on a roll with no stop.

But at some point, the 25-year-old has to understand the process of slowing down, one she honestly shared in an interview with For The Win.

"I have to give myself patience of actually committing to slowing down and understanding that slowing down is continuing to go forward," she said while promoting her partnership with Turtles. "I have to give myself a certain level of patience to slow down."

Screenshot from Sha'Carri Richardson's paid partnership with Turtles

Richardson revealed that the hardest part of slowing down is, in her words, equivalent to moving forward.

"I would say the hardest part about having to slow down is understanding that slowing down does not take away from going forward. I would say that sometimes I feel like speed is equivalent to moving forward, and I don't give that same energy to slowing down, processing ― seeing ― which is still the same equivalent to going forward."

The sprint queen kicked off her 2025 season on an unusually slow note, settling for a fourth-place finish in 11.4s at the Seiko Grand Prix back in April. Since then, she's yet to competitively step on the track with rumours she's battling with an alleged injury.

Richardson's next race is scheduled for the Prefontaine Classic on July 5, where she's expected to face her fierce rival and Olympic champion Julien Alfred as well as in-form training partner Jefferson-Wooden.

A win and fast time for her will mean she's back in her perch as the woman to beat ahead of defending her world title in Tokyo this summer and would have mastered her present phase of when to keep it fast and take it slow.