“The dragon is misunderstood. It’s seen as evil and destructive and everything. But the meaning of my dragon is fortune, authority, and good luck,” said Sha’Carri Richardson, while speaking of the dragon tattoo on her left shoulder. She also has a roaring lion’s head on her right thigh and an Egyptian Ankh + Eye on the upper right chest. There is no dearth of tattoos that the 2023 World Champion has on her body, but one of them might be going away soon. Why?

“Tag your best tattoo cover up artist for me✨” wrote Sha’Carri Richardson on her Instagram story. Clearly, the former world champion is looking for someone in Tokyo or in the US to get one or more of her tattoos removed. Which one could it be? That is a question that only Sha’Carri can answer, but the one thing to keep in mind here is that the Olympic gold medalist is not a big fan of tattoo removal. Hence, she is on the lookout for a cover-up artist.

Back in March 2024, Richardson took to her Instagram story once again to talk about tattoos. She said, “Tattoo removal is real, so think long term before getting them, my young people.” What she meant is that it is a painful process. The most advanced tech for this is using a laser, which is often described to feel like a rubber band snapping against the skin or tiny bursts of hot oil. Ouch.

The discomfort can be sharp but brief, with each laser pulse delivering a sting. After a session, the treated area may feel sunburned, swollen, or tender for a few hours to a couple of days. However, a cover-up is not an easy task either. It is almost the same process as getting a tattoo, though it can be more intense if the old ink is dense, scarred, or placed on sensitive skin. The process usually involves darker, heavier shading and longer sessions to fully mask the existing design creatively to ensure it doesn’t look like a patch up, which can increase discomfort.

All in all, tattoo removal tends to be more painful than a cover-up because it involves repeated, high-intensity laser sessions over months, each leaving the skin sensitive and sometimes blistered. And Sha’Carri Richardson won’t be wishing for any more of that after the horrible season she has had. Her only sub-11 this season came in the finals of the world championships when she clocked 10.94 seconds. Even her first win of the season came in the heats of the World Championships, clocking 11.03s. She has lost her 100m world title, but she still hopes for another gold.

Sha’Carri Richardson will be in the 4x100m Relay

“I’m sure you and Sha’Carri, because you guys made the finals,” exclaimed Shannon Sharpe to Melissa-Jefferson in an episode of the Nightcap. Citing how both the Americans made it into the finals of the women’s 100, he took a potshot that they both would be in the 4x100m relay team and he aimed right. “Yeah. So, it’s pretty, I would say it’s pretty much set in stone. I think what’s going to end up happening is that, this is just as of today, obviously, I know that I will be leading it off, and then, my train basically, I’ll be on it’ll be my training partners.” Jefferson Wooden answered.

She added, “So me to Tee Tee to Kayla White to Sha’Carri is the last I’ve heard of last I’ve heard of anything yet.” Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha “TeeTee” Terry, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Kayla White all train under the same coach, i.e., Dennis Mitchell, at Star Athletics in Florida. “This is like unofficial,” Melissa added. But if we were to take her words at face value, she is going to start for the US team in the 4x100m, and TeeTee is going to be the backstretch runner who will then pass on the baton to Kayla White at the curve. Richardson will be taking the responsibility of anchoring the relay.

The good in this is that the three of them have done this before. At the Paris Olympics, the U.S. women’s 4x100m relay team consisted of Jefferson, Terry, Gabby Thomas, and Sha’Carri. The 2023 world champion anchored and secured gold with a winning time of 41.78 seconds. Jefferson opened with an 11.46 split, Terry clocked 9.98 on the second leg, Thomas powered through the curve in 10.25, and Richardson closed the race in 10.09. To top this off, they now have an advantage.

Earlier this month, Gabby Thomas talked about what is wrong with relays. She said, “No, like people live all around the country and they have different training groups and we come together for this one meet and try to make a relay happen…We only get a couple of opportunities each year to practice together, right? We can train together at Olympic training camp or World Championships training camp, which is right before the meet.” But since the US relay team members are all students of the same coach, they have the upper hand. Can Sha’Carri and Co. repeat what happened in Paris last year?