Mechelle Freeman, the coach who guided Sha’Carri Richardson and Co to a gold medal in Paris, relates to her struggles, highlighting her own battle against doubters in her coaching journey.
Outgoing USATF women’s relay coach Mechelle Freeman has revealed one of the struggles that Sha’Carri Richardson has faced that she highly resonates with.
The former world champion was behind the technique that Sha’Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry used to claim the win in the women’s 4x100m at the Paris Olympic Games.
However, her journey to the top, just like Sha’Carri Richardson has been marred by doubters who believed she could not be an accomplished coach.
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Since she joined Team USA as a relay coach in 2015, she has managed to guide the women’s 4x100m to eight medals, three from the Olympic Games. Freeman also led the women’s 4x400m relay team to 12 medals.
Revealing how she struggled to make an impact, she referred to a video shared by Nike, where Sha’Carri Richardson talks about how people have always told her to stay in her place and she had to show them where she truly belonged.
“People will be quick to tell you, ‘You need to learn your place’, so I did, it’s first,” Sha’Carri Richardson said in the video.
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Replying to the video on X, Mechelle Freeman said: “Literally what happened to me…”
She followed with another tweet revealing that she will always be a champion for gender equality. Freeman seemingly explained that she has witnessed women being denied roles they are qualified for only for underqualified men to be given the same opportunities.
“I will be speaking up. For the women and girls who prove their value and it’s still not enough. Against the notion of the less qualified man getting put in positions over the more qualified woman. For the guidance I received from a mentor: You can always right a wrong,” she said.
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This comes days after she stepped down from the role as one of the coaches at USATF, penning an emotional message detailing that there were a lot of lessons she took.
Mechelle Freeman urged all the athletes to keep working towards the better, winning races and breaking records.
“My time as the USATF Head Women’s Relays Coach has come to an end. Thank you to my family and to those who believed in me,” she said.
“Thank you, Lord, for choosing me to show the world how to WIN against it all. To the athletes, keep making history and much love.”
Aside from being an accomplished coach, Mechelle Freeman was also a top athlete during her days as an active athlete. She was part of Team USA’s women’s 4x100m relay squad at the 2008 Olympic Games.
She also won two silver medals at the 2007 Pan American Games and helped Team USA win a gold medal at the World Championships.