Sha'Carri Richardson among a trio of training mates headed to Paris 2024: 'These girls are my sisters'
Standing shoulder-to-shoulder in front of hundreds of fans outside of Hayward Field, Sha'Carri Richardson, Twanisha Terry and Melissa Jefferson were getting an Olympic send-off they'd all dreamed of.
But while a lot this might be new for the trio of women who qualified for the U.S. Olympic team in the 100m at the U.S. Trials Saturday night (22 June), what isn't new is one another: All three train together under coach Dennis Mitchell in Florida.
"These girls have literally... they're my sisters. I love them to death," Jefferson said after they went 1-2-3 in the women's 100m final. "And if it wasn't for them, I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now. They pushed me in ways I never knew I could be pushed. The group in itself, it takes you to another level mentally."
The spotlight has shone brightly on Richardson since her collegiate days at LSU, when she set the NCAA record on her way to the national title in 2019. Terry is actually a year older than Richardson at 25, and was in that NCAA final in 2019, finishing third.
Jefferson, at 23, is the youngest of the group, and said she watched from home during the 2021 Olympic Trials. She had her big breakout at the World Championships at this same venue in Eugene, Oregon, in 2022, where as U.S. champion she qualified for the 100m final, which had been the biggest race of her life - until Saturday night.
After failing to even get on the Worlds team last year, Jefferson said: "I told myself then that would be the last USA [international] team that I would not make in my career."
Her move thereafter? To join Mitchell, Richardson and Terry in Florida to try and see through that Olympic dream.
Sha'Carri, Twanisha, Melissa and Dennis: 'Get out and drive that car'
What's it like in on a typical training day in Montverde, Florida, outside of Orlando?
"[Dennis] just loves to say, 'Get out there and drive that car,'" a laughing Terry said back at the fan zone on Sunday (23 June). told fans about Mitchell and his motivation. "What he means is that our bodies are Ferraris... get out there and drive correctly."
Mitchell himself is a three-time Olympian between 1988 and 1996, winning a trio of medals, including relay gold for the U.S. at Barcelona 1992. He also coaches Olympic medal-winning sprinter Kenny Bednarek, who is looking to book his spot in Paris this week, as well.
As Sha'Carri crossed the line in the 100m final, she threw her arms back, welcoming in the moment, then - as the three realised what they had just accomplished - they all embraced on the track. Sha'Carri enveloping her two teammates already hugging.
Richardson has grown in leaps and bounds in the three years since she made the U.S. team but was subsequently left off it having tested positive for a banned substance found in marijuana. Her leadership has not only come in running first and running fast.
It's come in a continued reflection of self. And a willingness - and want - to bear the title of "world's fastest woman."
"In the past few years, I've grown a better understanding of myself, a deeper respect and appreciation for my gift that I have in the sport and as well as my responsibility to the people that believe in support me," Richardson told reporters.
"I have a deeper love and a deeper care for the talent that I have been given... and [I don't] take advantage of it; I nurture it. I take care of my body, take care of my mind and spirit. That way that I can continue to execute and show up on the track."