Meet Sha’Carri Richardson, the Flo-Jo of Our Time

Some of the Olympics’ most iconic athletes have been track-and-field sprinters: Florence “Flo-Jo” Griffith Joyner and her sister-in-law Jackie Joyner-Kersee. The rescheduled summer Olympics in Tokyo are still about a month away, but now, another American woman is poised to join their ranks: 21-year-old, five-foot-one Sha’Carri Richardson. She won the women’s 100-meter at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on Saturday with a time of 10.86 seconds, qualifying for Tokyo and cementing her status at the fastest woman in the U.S. 

While Richardson’s long, bedazzled nails have drawn comparisons to Flo-Jo’s, her confidence is all her own. “I just want the world to know that I’m that girl,” Richardson said after the win. NBC could scarcely form a sentence about her on its Twitter feed, lauding: “The nails. The hair. The attitude. The speed.”

The Houston native has also supplied one of the most heartfelt moments of the Olympics trials. After flashing past the competition and officially becoming an Olympian, Richardson ran into the stands at Omaha’s Hayward Field to greet her grandma, Betty Harp, with an embrace so filled with love and pride that it instantly went viral. “She was always in my corner,” Richardson said of her grandmother. “She is my heart. She is my superwoman. Being able to cross the finish line and run up the steps felt amazing.” Adding to the day’s emotional weight, Richardson also revealed that her biological mother had recently died. She called their relationship a “very, very, very confusing and sensitive topic.” She added, “I am grateful for her giving me life, bringing me into this world.”

With many top female athletes still underpaid and undervalued, it’s thrilling to see Richardson revel in her athletic gifts. “My presence in this track game making history happen, no need for a thank you,” she tweeted recently. According to her feed, she isn’t interested in being liked and doesn’t let critics get under her skin. “I have to transform [the hate] into motivation ’cause very easily I could show them the Dallas in me,” Richardson has said. While she’s discreet about her personal life, Richardson revealed to USA Today the charming origins of her bright orange hair: “My girlfriend actually picked my color.... She said it spoke to her, the fact that it was just so loud and vibrant, and that’s who I am.” 

As Tokyo draws closer, Richardson will be one of Team USA’s brightest, boldest stars to watch. “Is she a little bit of Flo-Jo?” NBC’s commentators wondered aloud on Saturday. “Maybe. But she is 100% Sha’Carri Richardson.”

Originally Appeared on Vogue