Who is Sha’Carri Richardson’s coach, Dennis Mitchell? Meet the man training the Olympics 2024 track and field star

AMERICAN sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has already scooped up an Olympic silver medal in Paris, with more medals expected.

But a lot of her success is down to her long-term coach and former Olympian himself: Dennis Mitchell. Here we take a look at how he has helped the track and field star at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

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Who is Sha’Carri Richardson’s coach, Dennis Mitchell?

Dennis Mitchell is a former USA sprinter and currently coaches American track and field stars, such as Sha’Carri Richardson.

Born in North Carolina in 1666, Richardson raced for the Florida Gators college team, being inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2005.

The former athlete was a double-world champion and Olympic champion in the 4×100 relay.

Mitchell was part of the relay team which broke the 4×100 m relay record at the World Championships in 1991, before beating their own record later that year.

After retiring from athletics after the 1996 Olympics, Mitchell became a sprinting coach. In 2023, he won US Athletics coach of the year.

The former athlete was featured extensively in Netflix’s documentary Sprint: The World’s Fastest Humans. He has also been pictured with celebs, such as rapper Snoop Dogg .

Dennis Mitchell coaches the entire roster of Team USA’s women’s 100 m squad, including 2024 silver medalist Sha’Carri Richardson.

Mitchell is also a pivotal figure in coaching sprinters of the future, who will compete in front of home crowds in the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.

Was Dennis Mitchell an Olympic athlete?

Mitchell competed in three Olympic Games as a sprinter for Team USA.

His first appearance was at the Seoul Olympics in 1988, when Mitchell was 22. The athlete missed out on a relay Gold when Team USA were disqualified.

In the individual 100 meter event, Mitchell narrowly missed out on a medal, with fellow Americans Carl Lewis and Calvin Smith taking gold and bronze.
Four years later, Mitchell won Gold in the 4×100 relay at the 1992 Barcelona Games. In this race, the American team broke the world record for the relay competition.

He also won a Bronze medal in the individual 100 m.

Dennis Mitchell’s third and final Olympics was the 1996 Games in Atlanta, where he won a silver medal with the USA 4×100 relay team.

Mitchell retired shortly after, having won three Olympic medals.

What has Dennis Mitchell’s impact been on Sha’Carri Richardson?

Richardson’s teammate Kenny Bednarek has called Mitchell “The Architect of Comebacks”, supporting athletes to bounce back after setbacks.

Richardson failed a drugs test for cannabis after the 2020 Olympic trials, banning her from competing at the games, where she was likely to win track medals.

Mitchell has been instrumental in Richardson’s drug recovery, but also her rebuild as an athlete. Just two years after the ban, Richardson won two gold medals at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

The coach has also focused on coming out the blocks with Richardson, with the US star known to be a slow starter.

Under Mitchell’s guidance, RIchardson is now the fourth fastest American woman in track and field history.

Is Sha’Carri Richardson competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics?

Sha’Carri Richardson has already won a silver medal in the 100 meters in Paris, being edged out by St Lucian sprinter Julien Alfred.

The world champion did not qualify for the US team to compete in the 200 meters in Paris.

But she’ll be competing in a star-studded Team USA in the 4×100 women’s relay. Qualification starts on August 8th, with the final on August 9th.