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At the USATF Nights of Legends on Saturday, December 2, Sha'Carri Richardson added two more accolades to her already lengthy list of achievements. The sprinter won her first-ever Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete of the Year Award for her remarkable displays in 2023.
Richardson was also awarded the USATF World Championships Track Performer Wing Award for her performance at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. The American clocked 10.65s to win gold in the 100m at Budapest. Additionally, she anchored the US relay team to a victory and finished with a bronze in the 200m race.
After the event, Sha'Carri took to Instagram to share pictures of her from the night, captioning the post:
"Being your best self will always shine. Thank you to those who have always seen me. We are on this journey together... my wins will always be OUR wins. I will continue to share this crown with those before me, alongside me, and definitely with those up next. xo, Sha'Carri
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"A special thank you to: USATF, The Jackie Joyner Kersee, Coach Dennis Mitchell, DABLOCK, My Family, My Team, My People"
Various athletes dropped by in the comments section of the post to congratulate Richardson on her achievement. College basketball player Angel Reese said, "you ate down, you did not PLAY", while sprinter Masai Russell praised Sha'Carri's speech writing, "Your speech was everything & you looked hella beautiful while doing it 😍!
Fellow track and field athlete Britton Rose reacted to the post, commenting, "shining SO bright".
Several other athletes showered Sha'Carri Richardson with praise, as 100 meters hurdles specialist Alia Armstrong, British sprinter Daryll Neita, and Olympic gold medalist Lynna Irby-Jackson commented to hype up the sprinter.
Comedian and actor Leslie Jones also dropped in to write, "Very proud of you!!"
Sha'Carri Richardson hopes to inspire people to be themselves
Sha'Carri Richardson took to the stage twice on 2nd December in Orlando, Florida to accept her awards at the USATF Night of Legends.
In her acceptance speech for the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete of the Year award, Richardson expressed her gratitude for the honor and talked about how she felt her success came to her at the perfect point in her life.
The 23-year-old went on to say that she understood the responsibility and influence she held as a World Champion, and hoped that she could inspire people to be themselves.
"...I feel like I've shown that as long as you are yourself and you work hard, you can display whatever it is that is you and still get the job done," she stated at the end of her speech.
