*Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles were honored over the weekend at the USA Track and Field (USATF) Night of Legends on December 3 in Orlando, Florida.
The pair were named the 2023 USATF Athletes of the Year after winning gold medals at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest over the summer.
Richardson was also awarded the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Athlete of the Year award. Her coach, Dennis Mitchell, was named Coach of the Year.
“With the God that I serve, everything happens when it’s supposed to happen. So when I stand here today as the world champion, that’s because now was the time for that to happen. Now is the most impactful it would be, the most powerful it would be, and the most sincere it would be,” Richardson said in her speech, per Olympics.com.
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“I understand the influence that I have, I understand the responsibility that I have to USATF and as a top female USA athlete, and to my country, and to my black family, to my beautiful women, to everybody that has been misunderstood for trying to be their best selves and not be put into a category because they do track and field and have been put in a bubble,” she added.
Richardson won 100m and 4x100m gold and 200m bronze at World Championships in August, Olympics.com reports. Lyles also won 100m, 200m, and 4x100m at the event. Over the weekend, he received the Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year, award for the third time in his career.
“I feel like I’ve shown that as long as you yourself, you work hard, you can display whatever it is that is you, and still get the job done,” the 26-year-old said in his speech.
“I told my agent when we first met that I wanted to transcend the sport,” Lyles continued.
“It’s hard to go through life and not be heard. I know that everybody here has a story to tell, and I just want to see you tell it!”
READ MORE: 2023 USATF Names Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles Athletes of the Year
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