2 min readLast week, world champion sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson said she was left speechless by the news that the Dallas Independent School District board had voted to name the track at the Jesse Owens Athletic Complex’s John Kincaide Stadium after her.
The unanimous vote from the school board means that the track will now be known as Sha’Carri Richardson Track. Richardson attended elementary school through high school in the district, and the track is one mile south of her alma mater, Carter High School.
“This means so much if you from the city, you know the stadium is rooted in memories,” Richardson said on X. “I’m literally speechless.”
While attending Carter High School, Richardson took home Texas state 100-meter titles as a sophomore, junior, and senior and in the 200 meters as both a junior and senior. Later, at Louisiana State University, she won the NCAA 100-meter title as a freshman and turned professional in 2019.
In a posting on the district’s website, the school says that naming the track after Richardson will serve as a tribute to her achievements in sports and her significant ties to Dallas.
Richardson kept the Texas connections going last weekend by handing out trophies at the F1 U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas. The speedster posed for photos alongside Formula 1 stars Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen after the race.
Richardson also attended the F1 Academy race, a female-only competition founded earlier this year. “I’m here supporting the young ladies here, doing their thing, speed everywhere, speed all the way around, I love it. I want them to continue to do their thing and I continue to hope that this sport continues to grow and they continue to show that ladies are powerful,” she said in a video for GQ Sports.
Richardson, 23, is undoubtedly qualified to hand out awards at an F1 race, having recently won the unofficial title of world’s fastest woman after winning the world championship in the 100 meters in August. She knows a thing or two about speed.
Laura Ratliff is a New York City-based writer, editor, and runner. Laura's writing expertise spans numerous topics, ranging from travel and food and drink to reported pieces covering political and human rights issues. She has previously worked at Architectural Digest, Bloomberg News, and Condé Nast Traveler and was most recently the senior editorial director at TripSavvy. Like many of us, Laura was bitten by the running bug later in life, after years of claiming to "hate running." Her favorite marathon is Big Sur.
