Usain Bolt's opinion about Sha'Carri Richardson validated as Olympic agony proves him right

Usain Bolt, the legendary sprinter, offered some solid advice to American athlete Sha'Carri Richardson , suggesting she "train harder" ahead of her near miss at the Paris Olympics gold, and it seems she has taken his advice .

Although tipped to win the 100m in France after claiming victory at last year's World Championships, Richardson finished with silver, trailing behind Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia.

The counsel from Bolt gains poignancy following his comments to the New York Post after Richardson's suspension which excluded her from Tokyo.

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He'd recommended: "I would tell Sha'Carri to train harder and to be focused and not say too much. If you talk that big talk you have to back it up. So just train hard and focus on that and try to come back do it and then talk about it."

Reflecting on the reaction to Richardson's pre-race bravado, Bolt said: "Jamaicans were vexed because she was talking a lot of shit before the actual race, it is just one of those things," referencing how Jamaican pride was at stake causing strong motivation among the competitors, particularly after Richardson's ninth place at her comeback race in the 2021 Prefontaine Classic post-suspension.

He continued: "Jamaicans don't like when people talk shit about us because we are a very proud people. So if you talk about us we are gonna want you to back it up. It definitely gave those women the extra push [to win.]".

Bolt reflected on his own track rivalries, saying, "That was my thing with Justin Gatlin-because he's the one that was always talking, so that gives me that energy like: 'All right you think you're gonna win let's go! It does give you that extra boost to wanna beat that person."

Shacarri Richardson did indeed find her moment of redemption at a Paris event, as she shone in the women's 4 x 100 relay. Taking on the anchor leg for Team USA, Richardson catapulted her team from third to first, securing a glorious gold medal victory.

Not just fast on her feet, Richardson also caught the eye with her defiant stare-downs directed at her rivals mid-race.

Reflecting on her first Olympic gold triumph, Richardson shared with Refinery29: "Honestly, that look over, if I had to just highlight anything, the look over was - it's almost like it was a mirror on that side of me, and I'm just looking at a version of myself that nobody but me could see, if that makes sense."

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She went on to explain: "I looked over and I just knew that no matter what was going on, there was nobody that I was going to allow - even myself - to be in front of me. I know that sounds crazy, but I was in that lane and feeling like I'm always my biggest competitor [so I had to] leave my best on the track."

Richardson added: "I was just like, there's no way that I'm not going to leave my best on the track. And so just looking over, it was more so showing that the hard work that all of us ladies in that 41 put in was not going to be in vain."

She further stated: "I wasn't going to even allow myself to not cross that finish line in first place and not get that medal, or to let down those ladies and the support that we received when it comes to us crossing the finish line, in first place as Team USA."

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