Richardson's flair, style, and blazing speed calls to mind another US track icon: Florence Griffith Joyner, aka Flo-Jo, who tore up the track in the 80s and 90s while sporting long nails and hair. "Flo-Jo came to the track and knew she was going to dominate," Richardson told the Associated Press. "The way she did that was graceful. I always liked that. If the amazing Flo-Jo had long nails, there was no excuse why I couldn't have long nails."
It also goes beyond style. Richardson has faced her fair share of haters who bash her look and fearless confidence. Griffith Joyner, the 100-meter world record holder, was criticized for similar things and never let it affect her, Richardson found out. "Y'all love talking about my hair & my nails like the greatest woman to ever enter the game didn't run in style," she posted on Instagram in 2019. "She was the greatest of them all," Richardson said in a 2019 interview, according to the Washington Post. "People talked about her . . . People are going to say what they're going to say . . . Do what you want to do because, at the end of the day, people are going to talk. So make sure while they're talking, give them something to talk about."