Sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson catapulted into the global spotlight in June 2020 when she won the 100 meters with a time of 10.86 seconds — coming in 0.13 seconds ahead of second-place finisher Javianne Oliver at the Olympic trials.
She is now the subject of “Sub Eleven Seconds,” a new documentary film which premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The documentary is directed by London-based filmmaker, Bafic and executive produced by late designer Virgil Abloh via his independent film collective, Architecture Films.
“Sub Eleven Seconds,” is described as being a “rumination on time, loss, and hope” on the Sundance website.
Things took a turn for Richardson when was forced to miss the Olympics after testing positive for marijuana. She was just 21 and at the time, second only in the world to Jamaican star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and was lauded as the “female Usain Bolt.”
“Nobody knows what I go through,” she said after qualifying for the Olympics. “Everybody has struggles and I understand that. When y’all see me on this track and y’all see the poker face that I put on but nobody but them and my coach knows what I go through on a day-to-day and I’m highly grateful of them. Without them there would be no me. Without my grandmother, there would be no Sha’Carri Richardson, so my family is my everything, my everything ’til the day I’m done.”
Richardson then faced heavy backlash after a disappointing performance at the Prefontaine Classic, where she finished last. However, her confidence remained intact. Richardson has vowed an epic return to form.
The documentary is available at Sundance 2022 Online until Sunday, January 30.
“Time is my blessing and my curse,” Richardson says in the teaser. “On the track, I’ve been blessed to run fast. Off the track, time has cheated me. You don’t know when something or someone will be taken from you.”
You can purchase your Sundance 2022 tickets here.
