Richardson’s journey in the spotlight hasn’t always been smooth. In 2021, a positive marijuana test during the US Olympic trials led to a suspension that kept her out of the Tokyo Olympics—a setback that could have defined her career. But Richardson isn’t one to stay down for long. Her triumphant return at the 2024 Olympics wasn’t just a comeback; it was a statement. “I’m not back, I’m better,” has been her mantra all year.
But while Richardson is happy to talk about her professional journey, this hasn’t always been the case when it comes to her personal life. In the past, Richardson has been open about her sexuality, letting fans know in 2015 that she’s bisexual. “My family know im bi,” she wrote in a tweet at the time. Since then, however, the Olympian has been pretty tight-lipped about her love life. “There are things Richardson just won’t talk about,” wrote journalist Maya Singer in an August 2024 Vogue profile. Naturally, this has only fueled more curiosity about who might be supporting the track star behind the scenes.
From 2019 to 2022, Sha’Carri Richardson was in a relationship with Jamaican hurdler Janeek Brown. The pair were pretty public with their relationship, with Richardson occasionally referring to her girlfriend in interviews. After a big win in 2021, for example, she shared a sweet detail about Brown during an interview with USA Today: “My girlfriend actually picked my [hair] color. She said it like spoke to her, the fact that it was just so loud and vibrant, and that’s who I am. She just wanted me to be able to make a statement.”
But as with many relationships, things weren’t always smooth sailing. After their split, Richardson took to Instagram with some serious allegations. “I was in a relationship with a Jamaican athlete that never cared about me from the jump. I was abused and stole from, yet protected her from the judgement of her country and family while they dragged me,” she revealed at the time, according to Sportskeeda.
Brown later responded to these allegations in an Instagram Live, admitting to at least one instance of abuse: “I was abusive once that there’s physical evidence of, and we moved on, and even after then I was trying to move on from that. We still got nowhere,” she shared. The hurdler chalked up their relationship troubles to personal issues. “I was going through something. I was finding myself,” she said. Since then,
