Sha’Carri Richardson recently revealed the driving force behind her decision to turn professional, despite facing significant discouragement from others.
At first, Richardson found the prospect of going professional daunting, as she had no clear idea of what to expect during the transition. Despite her success in her first record-breaking season at Louisiana State University, she was thrown into a chaotic environment and had to adjust as best as she could. She admitted it was an uncomfortable situation since she had just completed a stellar season at LSU.
Richardson had a standout high school career, winning the 100m and 200m titles with Carter High School before joining LSU in 2018. In 2019, she reached the final of the NCAA Indoor Championships and broke the collegiate outdoor record with a 10.75-second 100m performance, surpassing a 42-year-old world U20 record. Mid-2019, she turned professional and signed with Nike.
In a previous interview with Tempo Journal, she reflected on the discomfort she felt: “Definitely, those risks, those decisions made me uncomfortable but I guess I have noticed from just in my past that when change comes you’re supposed to be uncomfortable but when you make a change, you get different results. Also being uncomfortable keeps me on my toes, it also makes me not satisfied.”
She mentioned that while people warned her against turning professional at such a young age, her exploratory nature pushed her to take the leap. For her, the idea of achieving what seemed impossible was too appealing to pass up, and signing with Nike was a dream come true.
Richardson also pointed out that many expect athletes to face the same challenges once they go professional, but she emphasized that everyone handles transitions differently. She aimed to challenge the conventional thinking that discourages people from turning professional, especially when they’re met with negativity.
“Like most people when they transition from college to professional, it does take them a while and I hear that or when I was in college, ‘oh yeah you’re freshman so transitioning over to the professional may be a little tricky’ and it’s just like everyone is different,” she said. “You can’t just box all of us in a box or you can’t box everyone in a box because of how you experience the situation and I always take that as ammunition to be different, to beat the system, to make a new norm.”
Though Richardson has faced her own challenges since going professional, she has persevered and established herself as a force to be reckoned with.
