Dallas ISD track to be named after sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson
DALLAS - Sha'Carri Richardson, the fastest woman in the world, will have a Dallas ISD track named after her.
"It’s great news. Actually I think it’s well deserved. Sha’Carri has had the opportunity to run on that track since she was 9-years-old," said Lauren Cross, Richardson's former high school track coach at Carter High School in Oak Cliff.
Cross says that Richardson, an eight-time state champion at Carter, was nearly speechless at the news of the track inside Kincade Stadium at the Jesse Owens Athletic Complex is being named after her.
"She was really excited, she was really shocked. She couldn’t believe that they would rename a track after her and I explained to her, it’s definitely earned," Cross said.
Dallas ISD voted Thursday to name the track after the three-time world medalist.
Cross says the track has a special meaning for Richardson; she has run on it since she was young.
"You put in a lot of blood sweat and tears on that track, you live 5 minutes from the track, and you’ve run on it since you were a youth," Cross recalled telling her.
Richardson won the women's 100-meter world title in August in Budapest, Hungary with a time of 10.65 seconds, a record for the event at the World Championships.
Dallas native Sha'Carri Richardson wins gold in women's 100-meter race at World Championships
It was just two years ago that Richardson had her Olympic dreams shattered after testing positive for marijuana use, leading to a suspension.
"Sha’Carri worked really, really hard. I knew from the time that I first started working with her that she was really passionate about track and field. She loved the sport, so it was just natural for her to just put all her effort into it," Cross said.
Cross says running professionally has been Richardson's goal since she was a student at Carter High.
"I knew that she was passionate about track and field, and she said it was her goal even after the state meet. She said her plan was to run in Tokyo 2020. She wanted to run in the Olympics. That was always her goal," Cross said.
Richardson was banned from competing in the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana.
Her title at the World Championships is redemption.
BUDAPEST, HUNGARY - AUGUST 21: ShaCarri Richardson of Team United States celebrates winning the Womens 100m Final during day three of the World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023 at National Athletics Centre on August 21, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary
Her ex-coach said it's inspiring to have someone from the community be so impactful.
"To have the track named after them, it’s just a good representation and example to the younger kids to show to just keep pushing your dreams. Keep working for it and you never know what could happen," Cross said.