“ I’m still here. Last week, finding out my biological mother passed away, and I’m still choosing to pursue my dreams, still coming out here, still here to make the family that I do have on this Earth proud.” When Sha’Carri Richardson said those words in 2021, her voice carried both resilience and heartbreak. It wasn’t just a post-race interview—it was a young woman holding her pain in one hand and her purpose in the other, refusing to let either go. It was the beginning of a storm no training could prepare her for. She had just run 10.86 seconds in the women’s 100m final at the U.S. Olympic Trials. She stood atop the podium. Her ticket to Tokyo was secured. For a moment, the track world belonged to her. But behind that sprint was a staggering loss—her mother, gone just a week before

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