American superstars Sha’Carri Richardson and Christian Coleman will run at this year’s famous race on grass over Easter
Sha’Carri Richardson laughed out loud. Then he realized his manager was serious.
World 100-meter champion, world’s fifth-ever fastest woman, Olympic silver medalist, member of multiple American gold medal-winning relay teams (including the Olympics), and one of the greatest figures in world track and field asked the question: What do you think about competing at Stawell?
“What? Where?”
“You’ve probably heard of the Stawell Gift. Is it a race on grass on an oval in a small sheep farming town on the other side of the world?”
“Baa-ha ha. That’s a good thing. Wait, what? Are you serious? Why would I do that?”
“Think of it as a training run for which you get paid.”
“You know, I’ve always loved Australia; it has such funny animals and beautiful beaches. Aren’t the Olympics there soon?”
That’s close to word for word when the American superstar was pitched the idea of running in a small Victorian town on the other side of the world.
So Richardson and her boyfriend Christian Coleman (hardly a purse in this regulation, given that he was world champion in 2019, is the fastest man over 60 meters and has world indoor gold medals) agreed to compete in the Stawell Gift.
“When Emanuel [Hudson, her agent] presented the idea of coming [to Stawell]I thought it was absolutely hilarious and unique. I definitely laughed and giggled before saying, “No, I’m serious,” Richardson said.
“So I said, ‘Okay, this is something I can come and do,’ and I thought it would definitely be a commendable practice. Like, being on the grass reminds me of things I used to do, being a kid running… We were just running around the field. I thought, why not do that?”
Encouraged by moderator Jason Richardson, the amiable TV presenter and former Stawell Gift winner, to realize he might need to turn on the jets and expand himself after realizing the quality of the competition, Richardson, the American and not the white bald Australian from southern Vermont, held his ground.
“No, I still think this will be an exercise, a glorified practice. I will set before you the exalted one. “It pushes me to do what I’m trying to do.”
Of course it is. No one thinks Richardson came to Stawell with a desire to win the Gift and earn a place in athletics history. But who cares? She is also the top female sprinter to compete outside a major championship in Victoria and is so good that she could still win on Easter Monday, whether her training is praised or not.
Even early in the racing season, he can win from scratch, in a hurdle race, on the grass, between the ropes, in a small town on the other side of the world. HE HE Good.
He trains over 120 meters, but this is such an interesting distance that no one can cross this distance.
“We definitely do 120s in training, but competing over 120 is something different. I can definitely say that 120s will challenge me. This is not something I have worked on before,” he said.
Longer nails?
“If it comes to that, I can easily run barefoot. As long as I have grass and I have feet, I’m good,” he said.
“I’m actually very excited to experience all of Australia, city life and rural life. I was brought up by my grandmother, she was a country girl and we used to visit all the time when I was little.
“I feel at home, I’m foot racing, going to the countryside reminds me of my inner child, my inner little girl racer is coming out and I’m so excited. I’m ready to feel my skin on the grass.”
Coleman was excited. At 30, sports were still taking him places he hadn’t been and doing things he hadn’t done. It’s doubtful that running through a small Wimmera sheep herding town was on the bucket list, but visiting the sixth continent was.
He was also influenced by the origins of the 120-metre Gift distance, which stemmed from a challenge between drinkers in two rival pubs in South Yorkshire to decide who could run faster between pubs 130 yards apart (130 yards in the old, 120 meters in the new, but a pint in the pub is still a pint).
“This is my first time coming to Australia. I can officially cross my sixth continent. To come this far in my career and still have new experiences and come to an event I’ve never attended before, [and] I’ve never heard of it before; it’s really exciting to be a part of,” said Coleman.
To secure this pair, sprinting’s showpiece pair and two of the greatest sprinters the world has ever seen, is a remarkable thing for a Victorian town. This is again largely thanks to the generosity of low-key Wimmera businessman and philanthropist Sandy McGregor, who funded the Gout Gout races there last year and has risen again to take the American superstar couple out.
Every girl and woman in this race could never compete with someone like her, especially in conditions like these. No one on the track will ever see a world and Olympic champion and one of the best female sprinters the world has ever seen in such an environment. Sha’Carri is right; this is amazing.
Words can deceive when you say it’s a glorified practice. You have to remind yourself how a world champion trains. His run is your run. His sweat is your heart attack.
So it all started as a laugh; It’s been rationalized as glorified training and now it’s turning into a race.
“I believe I can win this weekend and I will do everything I can to win this weekend; I will not leave the grass without leaving everything on the grass,” he said.
News, results and expert analysis from the sports weekend delivered every Monday. Sign up for our sports newsletter.
Michael Gleeson is an award-winning senior sports writer specializing in AFL and athletics.Connect with: X or email.
