Sha’Carri Richardson captivated the audience at the Prefontaine Classic when she ran with her natural hair for the first time.
Richardson’s 2021 Iconic Look
Richardson has never shied away from making a statement, whether it be with her accomplishments or her signature fashion and style. Throughout her career, Richardson has often experimented with her style to create a look that best expresses who she is. Perhaps her most iconic look was in a competition in 2021, when she wore an orange wig and coffin-style acrylic nails.
Yes, she did that, and she looked amazing.
She ran with her orange-colored hair that day and won the competition, stunning the crowd. She also qualified for the Tokyo Olympics that day, so it seemed the wig worked its magic after all.
That same year, she posted a selfie of herself on Instagram without a wig, revealing her voluminous afro of dark colors, captioning it, “You come deal with this.”
Richardson’s 2023 Natural Look
And after two years, we finally saw her afro in person. At the Prefontaine Classic (Diamond League Finals), Richardson flaunted her natural look for the first time, and her fans went crazy for it.
As she ran through the field, her voluminous, round, dark-colored afro bounced with her. She finished fourth in the race, clocking a time of 10.65 seconds, behind Elaine Thompson-Herah (third place), Marie-Josee Ta Lou (second place), and Shericka Jackson (first place).
“I will say, my coach, I told him that if I go 10.06, I’ll wear my natural hair. So, when I became the world champion, instead of a championship record, I ran a 10.65. So I had to pull out the natural,” she said in a post-race interview.
Despite her fourth-place finish, she wasn’t disappointed with her results. She even commended those who reached the podium for bringing out the best in her.
“I feel amazing about my performance today,” she said. “All of the women who placed above me are literally legends, and I give them the utmost respect. There is no (bad) race anytime we line up, we have to bring our A games every time. I love racing against those women, they bring out the best in me.” she said, according to USA Today.
Track Spice posted pictures of Richardson in X, with the caption “Sha’carri Richardson runs with her natural fro for the first time! We love it.”
Sha’carri Richardson runs with her natural fro for the first time! We love it 😍 pic.twitter.com/EWisaymXcA
— Track Spice 🌶️ (@trackspice) September 16, 2023
Her fans were mesmerized by her natural look, and they expressed their awe at Richardson in the comment section, saying:
“Sha’carri Richardson embracing her natural fro is a beautiful sight! 😍 Natural beauty and confidence shining on the track.”- @1godsson
Sha'carri Richardson embracing her natural fro is a beautiful sight! 😍 Natural beauty and confidence shining on the track. #NaturalHair #EmbraceYourself
— B🎤zzo (@1godsson) September 17, 2023
“@itskerrii you coming for the gold and a ring too omg you so gorgeous. Thank you for taking off your cool you get more beautiful by the day inside and out ❤️” -@KhonshusThought
@itskerrii you coming for the gold and a ring too omg you so gorgeous. Thank you for taking off your cool you get more beautiful by the day inside and out ❤️
— Khonshus 🔴 (@KhonshusThought) September 16, 2023
“We are officially FF aka Fro Fans!! Stunning and shining like the star she is 💫” -@melissamissye
We are officially FF aka Fro Fans!! Stunning and shining like the star she is 💫
— Melissa "Missy" Enaje (@melissamissye) September 17, 2023
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