After a challenging 2025 season disrupted by injury, Sha’Carri Richardson enters 2026 momentum.
For a sprinter whose career has swung between brilliance and frustration, even small signals matter. And this time, the message came directly from the source.
When a fan on X asked how her training was going ahead of the new season, Richardson’s reply was brief but telling.
“Good morning, training is going great! I’m truly shocking myself. Have a blessed day 😇.”
Coming off a season that never quite clicked, Richardson’s words suggest a runner rediscovering her rhythm. Behind that renewed belief stands Dennis Mitchell, the coach who has overseen the highest peaks of Richardson’s career.
A season to forget, and a reset to embrace
The 2025 campaign was one of the most difficult of Richardson’s professional career. Injury setbacks stalled her momentum, forcing her to watch a fiercely competitive women’s sprint scene from the margins for much of the year. When she did return, the landscape had shifted. The field was deeper, faster, and less forgiving.
Though she managed a respectable comeback, Richardson left the season without a medal, in races highlighted by Melissa Jefferson-Wooden’s championship-record performance. For an athlete accustomed to standing on the podium, it was a sobering reminder of how quickly sprinting can move on.
Yet if 2025 exposed her vulnerabilities, it also clarified what she needed: continuity, trust, and a system that allows her to thrive both physically and mentally.
The Mitchell effect
Dennis Mitchell’s influence on Richardson is already well established. Under his guidance, she claimed gold in the 100m at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, followed by silver in the same event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She was also part of the gold-medal-winning U.S. women’s 4x100m relay team, performances that cemented her status among the sport’s elite.
But Mitchell’s impact extends beyond race results. His no-nonsense coaching style has played a key role in reshaping Richardson’s mindset, helping her learn how to compete on her own terms rather than being consumed by expectations.
“Me and my coach have a very close relationship, but even if we didn’t, I like it rough. Give it to me exactly how you need to,” Richardson said as quoted by Essentially Sports.
“If I’m not at practice pushing myself to my full potential or doing what I’m supposed to be doing, I want my coach to tell me exactly how he feels, raw, no filter, because I’ll give it right back to him the same way.”
Building champions beyond one athlete
Mitchell’s success is not limited to Richardson alone. Three members of the U.S. women’s 4x100m relay team that captured world gold, Richardson, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, and Twanisha Terry, are all part of his training group in Florida. That concentration of elite talent speaks to a system that consistently produces results.
After the relay triumph, Richardson was quick to highlight what sets Mitchell apart.
“His coaching style is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced, not just as a coach but also as a person. He teaches us as athletes and as people, and he takes care of so many things you wouldn’t even think you’d need as an athlete.”
That holistic approach has become increasingly important in an era where burnout and injury are constant threats. Mitchell understands that performance gains are not always made on the track. One small but telling example came on Thanksgiving, when Mitchell gave his athletes a day off from training.
As the 2026 season draws closer, Sha’Carri Richardson is ready to re-enter the global conversation.