Martina Navratilova celebrates Sha'Carri Richardson making the US Olympics squad for the first time for Paris 2024
Former World No. 1 Martina Navratilova celebrated Sha'Carri Richardson booking her place in the US squad for the 2024 Paris Olympics. Richardson will make her Olympics debut at the upcoming Summer Games.
Richardson secured her place in the squad after winning the 100m at the US Olympic Track and Field Team Trials on Saturday, June 22. Despite being behind at the start, the American athlete surged ahead to win the women's 100m final in 10.71 seconds.
Martina Navratilova celebrated Richardson's Olympics qualification on X (formerly Twitter) as she reshared the news and wrote:
"Yeeehaw!"
Sha'Carri Richardson was also in line to compete at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago. However, she was disqualified after she tested positive for THC, a chemical found in marijuana, and received a one-month suspension.
Following her triumph at the US Olympic Track and Field Team Trials, Richardson expressed her excitement about the Paris Olympics and representing her country.
“I feel honored. I feel every chapter I’ve been through in my life designed and prepared me for this moment. I cannot wait to go to Paris and represent,” Richardson said (via Sportstar).
Martina Navratilova made her only Olympic appearance at the 2004 Athens Games
Martina Navratilova made her first and only Olympic appearance at the 2004 Athens Games. This was because tennis had been excluded from the Olympic program for a significant portion of her career, only being reinstated as a full medal sport in 1988. However, she refused to represent the US Olympic team in the same year.
Navratilova, who teamed up with Lisa Raymond at the 2004 Athens Games, lost 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to the duo of Shinobu Asagoe and Ai Sugiyama in the quarterfinals.
Following the quarterfinals exit, the 18-time Grand Slam champion revealed that while the loss was disappointing, it was never her dream to win at the Olympics.
"This was never a dream of mine when I was growing up. It was a bonus I was able to be here. It's disappointing, of course. We were hoping to get a medal. But the end of a dream? No. I am living my dream," she said (via ESPN).
Despite not winning an Olympic medal, Navratilova achieved a plethora of records in her illustrious career. She added 59 Major titles to her cabinet, including 18 Grand Slam singles, 31 doubles, and 10 mixed doubles titles.
Navratilova was also the number one-ranked singles player in the world for a total of 332 weeks. She was at the top of the doubles rankings for a total of 237 weeks, 191 of which were consecutive.