Sha'Carri Richardson Secures Olympics Spot Before Revealing Her Mother Died

Sha’Carri Richardson absolutely dominated her 100-meter race on Saturday, June 19, securing her first Olympic berth. Unfortunately, her big victory comes following a rough week for the star, who just lost her mother.

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Following her impressive victory in the 100 meters, Richardson revealed during an emotional post-race interview that her biological mother died last week.

After earning her spot as part of the U.S. Track & Field contingent for Tokyo, she immediately ran into the stands and embraced multiple family members. She was asked about the emotional moment by NBC, which is when she revealed the tragic news.

“My family has kept me grounded,” Richardson said. “This year has been crazy for me. Going from just last week, losing my biological mother, and I’m still here.”

She went on to repeat and elaborate on the awful news, saying, “I’m still here. Last week, finding out my biological mother passed away and still choosing to pursue my dreams, still coming out here, still here to make the family that I do still have on this earth proud. And the fact [is] nobody knows what I go through. Everybody has struggles and I understand that, but y’all see me on this track and y’all see the poker face I put on, but nobody but them and my coach know what I go through on a day-to-day basis.”

“I’m highly grateful for them,” she continued. “Without them, there would be no me. Without my grandmother, there would be no Sha’Carri Richardson. My family is my everything, my everything until the day I’m done.”

Richardson didn’t offer any additional details about her mother’s death.

The 21-year-old is competing in her first Olympic trials this week at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. She won the 100 meters with a time of 10.86 seconds, which is 0.13 seconds faster than second-place finisher Javianne Oliver. She will look to become the first American woman to win gold in the event since Gail Devers in 1996.