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Sharrieffa Barksdale was a member of the 1984 USA Olympic team in the 400-meter hurdles and advanced to the semifinals. She finished third at the 1984 Olympic Trials. Sharrieffa won the 1983 US National Championships 400-meter hurdles and qualified for the inaugural IAAF World Championships in Helsinki, Finland where she advanced to the semifinals. She is the 1983 Pan Am Games Silver Medalist and 1986 Olympic Festival Gold Medalist in the 400-meter hurdles. Sharrieffa competed for the University of Tennessee and was a 12-time All-American, won 11 SEC titles and was part of the 1981 Women’s AIAW Outdoor National Championship team. She was a member of five AIAW/NCAA Champion relay teams (1981 outdoor sprint medley, 1981 outdoor 4x400m, 1982 outdoor 4x400m, 1983 indoor mile relay, and 1984 outdoor 4x400m relay). Barksdale was 1983 NCAA Silver Medalist in the 400-meter hurdles. She won the Penn Relays 400-meter hurdles in 1983 and 1984. Sharrieffa was a five-time Tennessee State Champion at Harriman High School. During her senior year in 1980 she earned four Gold Medals - 100 yards, 110-yard low hurdles, 200 yards and in the long jump. Her junior year she earned a Gold Medal at 220 yards, Silver Medal in the long jump and Bronze Medals at 100 yards and 110-yard low hurdles. Personal bests include: 100 meters– 11.67; 200 meters– 24.05; 400 meters– 52.86; 400-meter hurdles – 54.90 and Long Jump – 20-5¼ 96.23 meters). Her hometown of Harriman honored her with the Keys to the City, a street named after her and the high school track named ‘Sharrieffa Barksdale Track.’ Sharrieffa started One on One Training Academy and is founder of Born 2 Be Elite with co-founder Justin Gatlin. She has worked with USATF for over twenty years and is Senior Manager of USA Track and Field Alumni Relations. The Sharrieffa Barksdale Track Foundation is renovating her high school track and encourages young athletes to pursue their passion for sports and fitness while fostering a lifelong love of physical activity. Sharrieffa has two adult children, Javarus and Gentle. She spent ninety minutes on the telephone for this interview in the fall of 2024.
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THE BIG PICTURE You have been immersed in the sport of track and field for over forty years since your teenage years as an athlete, fan, owner of One-on-One Training Academy, founder of Born 2 Be Elite, Senior Manager of USA Track and Field Alumni Relations and more. Could you have imagined this as a teenager from a small town in Tennessee, and how has athletics and the track and field community contributed to and shaped your life?
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Not in a million years. When I was coming up as a child, if anyone had told me how my life would have shaped the way it is today, I would have told them, ‘No, this is not real.’
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At the highest levels of sport athletes set goals to compete in the Olympics or World Championships and to represent their country. Can you describe what it meant then and what it means now to be a member of the 1983 USA Pan American Games team, the 1983 USA IAAF World Championships team, the 1984 USA Olympic team, and to pull on the USA jersey on other occasions?
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It is still a dream, but I also look back at the hard work and dedication I put into it to become a world class athlete. I do remember back when I was in elementary school that I wanted to be an Olympian after watching the story of Wilma Rudolph. I was told, ‘Silly child.’ But I knew then that I was going to be an Olympian no matter what it took because I was a determined child. When I was growing up, we were always told that ‘No’ and ‘Can’t’ weren’t in our vocabulary. They were only in the books that we read. My father and mother instilled that in us when we were growing up. My father passed away when I was nine years old. To come back to your question, being that type of athlete and still being involved in the sport of track and field is remarkable. It is gratifying. I am grateful and so humble that God has allowed me to serve the athletes like I have and be connected with the sport of track and field.
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I have interviewed dozens of Olympians and there is the phrase, ‘Once an Olympian, always an Olympian, never former, never past.’ What did it mean to you when you made the USA Olympic team and how cool is it to be once and forevermore an Olympian amongst athletes from many decades who know how hard it was to become an Olympian and what an honor it is?
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What is so crazy is that some of the Olympians that I hadn’t met or talked to in the past, they are like a family with me. We tell stories to each other and if feels like we have known each other for all our lives. I think of Coby Miller and Kim Batten – I watched them race, but I didn’t know them until I met them many years later. There was such a camaraderie when we were talking that we became friends. Whether you were an Olympian or a Pan American Games athlete, the track and field family is unique. The NBA, WNBA, NFL – none of those sports have the camaraderie and the tightness that we do.
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I was a sub-elite runner when I competed, but runners who were elites in my competitive days or who are Olympians or Boston Marathon champions, I am in the brotherhood with them. I was at a much lower level, but nobody cares because we were all going through the same training and racing and they realize they had a bit more talent and were able to rise up to a higher level. It is amazing and, I’m sure you have seen this too, that many athletes who weren’t Olympians and competed in your time are still treated by you with the same kindness and compassion and love.
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Yes, we were Olympians, and we will be Olympians until the day we die. But a title to me is only a title. If you don’t have kindness and love in your heart and treat people the way that you want to be treated, that name and that title mean nothing to me.
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Let’s talk about some post-running items before we get back to details of your running career. First, as Senior Manager of USA Track and Field Alumni Relations, you are in the thick of track and field competitions and other events. How fresh and exciting has it been for you to stay so close to the sport, and dozens and hundreds of athletes as they grow and mature as competitors who try to make a U.S. team, make a team, and then earn medals?
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It is great because I play a big part in the process. As the Senior Manager of USA Track and Field Alumni Relations, I have been working with every U.S. team since 2004. I have worked with the Junior team and Senior team. For athletes like Michelle Carter, Lashawn Merritt, and Natasha Hastings, I watched them and was a part of their lives ever since they were seventeen or eighteen years old. Now that they are older, they still connect with ‘Miss Sharrieffa,’ because they know that, when they competed, I was the last person they saw before they get on that bus to compete. And I made sure they had a cheerful outlook. I let them know that no matter what they went through, they had outworked everyone. I told them that, even if they didn’t get a medal or make the next round, know that you have given one hundred and ten percent. I emphasize that they are somebody and to not let anything stand in their way.
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I interviewed both Michelle Carter and her dad, Michael, shortly after Michelle won the Gold Medal in the 2016 Olympic shot put on her last throw. It sounds like you were in Michele’s head on that last throw in Rio to take home the Gold Medal.
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Yes, I was there.
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Can you tell us about how you started One on One Training Academy which focuses on skill sets and not only one sport, but trains athletes in speed and agility for track and field, baseball and even prepares football players for the NFL combine?
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I’ve been doing that for about thirty-five years. It started with track and field, because the high school and middle school kids in Lexington, Kentucky were looking for someone to train them. I worked my way up. Then, some of the University of Kentucky football players wanted me to train them for their speed to get ready for the NFL combine. I have trained baseball players who were going to try out for major league scouts. They had to run 6.2 seconds for sixty yards. I have had success with my program because I let the parents know that, before an athlete enters the program, the child has to want to do this. It can’t be something that the parent wants, and the parent is trying to dream through them. Whether the kids do or don’t have the talent, I can bring out their best, but the kids have to be in it for the right reasons. I have seen parents that bring their children to One on One Training Academy and the kids are not into it. If they aren’t putting the work into the training plan I have developed for them, I sit down with their parents and let them know that I don’t want to waste their money or take their money. I tell them that their kids aren’t doing what they are supposed to be doing and don’t want to be here.
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How did you develop Born 2 Be Elite with Justin Gatlin and select South Africa as your initial area of focus, has it progressed well in developing sprinters and coaches, and what is the outlook for expansion to other locations?
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Right now, we are still located only in Cape Town, South Africa. One of our race walkers is doing great and her times are coming down. The program is headed up by a lady we call ‘Miss Queen.’ We train the coaches to train the athletes. There isn’t the accessibility to trained coaches like we have here in the United States. If you visit our Instagram page, Born 2 Be Elite, you will find all the fantastic things we do. We also have academic after-school programs that focus on math and reading and getting the athletes ready for taking the SAT and ACT tests in case they do decide to come to the United States to pursue academics or track and field. We have another program, an all-girls program, which focuses on protecting your body and treating your body as your temple. So, we have many areas where we work with the youth besides track and field.
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How rewarding is it to give back to your Harriman, Tennessee community through the Sharrieffa Barksdale Track Foundation and endeavors such as the renovation of the track at your high school, providing backpacks for hundreds of children and other efforts?
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When I was given the opportunity to go back to my hometown and to raise money for the renovation of the Sharrieffa Barksdale Track, I saw smiles on the people’s faces because they knew I hadn’t forgotten where I came from. I would never forget them because I started out with nothing and, when the good Lord takes me, I will leave this world with nothing. So, I’m a giver. I love to put a smile on anybody’s face. I don’t care if anybody gives me anything because I know my purpose here on earth is to give and to make sure that people are happy. There is always someone less fortunate than me or anybody else. If I can change just one life and instill goodness and hope in them, then I know I am doing what God put me on this earth to do.
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Was it both exciting and humbling following the 1984 Olympic Games, when you were honored by your hometown of Harriman with the Keys to the City, had a street named after you, and your high school track was named the ‘Sharrieffa Barksdale Track?’ Did you almost think, ‘Is this me? Are you talking about me?’
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I was speechless to know that they cared that much about me and to know that, when I do represent my hometown and Roane County, then I will do it with grace and dignity. To see them come out to greet me like they did when I came back from the Olympic Games in 1984 was totally overwhelming and very gratifying.
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Today is ‘Sigma Gamma Rho Founder’s Day.’ Many people talk about the sisterhood and the brotherhood in the track and field community. How cool is it to have these women who were friends in your college days become lifelong friends and, as you say, ‘Sigma Gamma Rho, the only way to go, and now I know!’
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(Big laughter from Sharrieffa as I watched her fun social media post earlier in the day) I pledged by myself at Tennessee. To see how far Sigma Gamma Rho has come with over a hundred thousand strong across the United States is amazing. What is also unbelievable is that my daughter, Gentel Sharrie, didn’t tell me when she was pledging Sigma Gamma Rho. She ran track at St. Augustine’s. One of my sorority sisters called me and told me about my daughter pledging and that she was about to be honored after the crossover. ‘What?’ I said. I was totally shocked. But Gentel did not know I was coming for the festivities to St, Augustine’s. When they did their stepping and presentation, they had masks on, and she didn’t see me as I was also behind the group. I walked up behind her and unveiled her mask from her face, and she saw me. I get choked up because it was so awesome to see my daughter pledge my sorority, which became our sorority. She is a legacy now. She started to cry but had to get herself back together because they had to perform. To show you how tight our sisterhood is, the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority played a big part with a large donation to the Sharrieffa Barksdale Track.
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USA AND WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, OLYMPIC TRIALS, AND OLYMPICS In 1982 in Knoxville, the city where you went to college, you finished in fifth place at the U.S. Championships behind some great runners – Tammy Etienne, Tonja Brown, Edna Brown, and Sandra Farmer-Patrick, while you were a hundredth of a second in front of Colleen Williams. What were your takeaways from that race?
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What happened was that was my first time ever running the 400-meter hurdles. My coach, Terry Crawford, said to me, ‘Sharrieffa, the 100-meter hurdles is not your race because you are so short. Because you can run the quarter mile well, I’m going to have you try the 400-meter hurdles.’ If I had a bad attitude, I would have told her that it wasn’t what she recruited me to race, and I wasn’t going to run it. But my parents taught us that a good attitude will carry you far. I trusted Terry Crawford because she was like my second mother, and we are still close to this day. I trusted the process. When I ran the 400-meter hurdles, I already knew my goals and what I was setting out to do. After that race, my goals were to make the World Championships and Pan Am Games the next year and to go on and make the 1984 Olympics. I conquered the 400-meter hurdles within two years as I did make the World Championships and Pan Am Games in 1983 and the Olympics the next year and who has ever done that?
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I believe that you showed other women two things – what they could do and that an athlete may have to switch sometimes to find the best path. In 1983 at the USA Championships in Indianapolis you won in 56.07; seconds, ahead of Judi Brown in 56.51 and Tonja Brown in 56.64 seconds. Did you come from behind or get out front and hold them off?
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To tell you the truth, I can’t remember the details of that race. In that particular race, I just knew that I won.
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When you were preparing for the 1983 World Championships, you raced in July in Europe, winning in Luxembourg and Stockholm and finishing second in Uppsala. How was it adjusting to the differences in training and racing in Europe while staying in hotels?
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What many people don’t know about me, but those close to me know, is that I go with the flow. I’m not a person who is an overthinker. There are people who have a system, but I don’t have time to do that. I think on my feet. Whatever happens happens, and I deal with it. That is how I live my life.
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What are your takeaways from your first global championship racing at the1983 World Championships in Helsinki where you missed making the finals by a tenth of a second in a time of 56.81 in your heat for fifth place?
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Unfortunately, I got gastritis the night before I was competing. If I hadn’t been sick, I know I would have run much better. I remember that race like it was yesterday.
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At the 1983 Pan Am Games in Venezuela, Judi Brown, who you beat at the U.S. Championships, won in 56.03 seconds with you just six hundredths of a second behind in a time of 56.09 for the Silver Medal. Were you close the whole way and what led to the difference at the finish?
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I do remember that race. The more that I would pump my arms, the more it seemed like Judi was getting away. When a runner tightens up, instead of relaxing, you don’t run the type of race you are capable of running. Coming off the tenth hurdle, we came off at the same time. Then I could feel myself tighten up because I wanted to win so badly. Judi stayed relaxed and she ended up winning. What is so great is that Judi and I were great friends. We spent time together at every track meet. But, when we went out to compete against each other, it was dog eat dog. Afterward, when we came off the track, we were friends.
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At the 1984 Olympic Trials Judi Brown won in 54.93 seconds ahead of Angela Wright in 55.33 and you at 55.50. Even though you didn’t win, was it still exciting since anywhere in the top three sends an athlete to the Olympics? Was it a good feeling when you crossed the line in third place to know you were an Olympian?
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It wasn’t like that unfortunately. I can replay that race over and over and over. I was predicted to win the Olympic Trials, with Judi in second and Lori McCauley coming in third. When we came off the last hurdle, Judi pulled ahead. Then I saw Angela Wright move past me on the left. Next I looked to the right and saw Lori McCauley. I was in the middle of Angela and Lori. She was moving ahead, and I knew this was do or die. I was telling myself, ‘Girl, you’d better pick it up or you’re not going to make this Olympic team.’ So, Judi Brown crossed first and Angela Wright was second. Lori McCauley and I crossed the finish line at the same time. It seemed like it took the officials a lifetime to put up the name on the scoreboard of the third finisher. We were waiting and waiting. When I saw my name light up on the scoreboard, I jumped up and started turning cartwheels. It looked like I had lost my mind, which I did. I had out leaned Lori because my torso was bigger than hers. And that is how I made the Olympic team.
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At the 1984 Olympics you finished in a strong second place in your heat in 56.89 but missed advancing to your semifinal race by one spot as you were fifth in 56.19 seconds, placing you in the ninth overall finish at the Games. Were you in top form or did an injury or illness affect you?
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The same bad luck that happened the previous year at the World Championships happened at the Olympic Games. There was a dentist set up in the Olympic Village in Los Angeles and I had to have a root canal the night before the semifinal race. But I couldn’t let that stop me. I couldn’t let that prevent me from going out there and giving my best. If I wouldn’t have had to have that root canal, I would have finished in a much better place than where I ended up. I was weak the day before the race because of the root canal. I was in so much pain. I told myself to bear the pain and not have the surgery until after the Games. But the pain was so unbearable, and I had emergency surgery that night.
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Other than the root canal surgery upending your racing, how exciting was it to be an Olympian, did you march in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies and what did you take away from your Olympic experience?
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If I could turn back the hands of time, I would love to have that feeling over and over again. It was great to know that I was an Olympian at that time and had made the Olympic team in Los Angeles and was able to march in the Opening Ceremonies with all of these athletes who were the best of the best in the world. You don’t get to be an Olympian unless you are one of the best. That feeling was such an amazing feeling and accomplishment that a person could ever dare to have. I didn’t march in the Closing Ceremony because terry sent me to Reggio, Italy to compete. It also happened that Diane Dixon and Carol Lewis were going to the same track meet, so we were in Reggio, Italy while the Olympic Closing Ceremony was held in Los Angeles.
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After the Olympic year, you finished in ninth place at the 1985 USA Championships and in eighth place at USAs in 1986, and then you were no longer on the running and racing scene. Was this due to injuries, family issues or both?
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I had moved to Tallahassee, Florida, and switched coaches from Terry Crawford to a man who was my boyfriend and later became my husband. On a side note, we later divorced after twenty-two years. He took on the challenge of coaching me. In 1986, at the U.S. Championships, we were competing for a spot on the U.S. team for the Goodwill Games. I had taken the race out like I always did. I never counted steps, ran like a bat out of hell, and had the attitude of ‘catch me if you can.’ When I came across the last hurdle, the announcer was saying, ‘Sharrieffa Barksdale is on the verge of setting the World Record.’ I lost focus and my trail leg clipped the hurdle. I fell and went down. Rahn Sheffield made the call. That race is one of the items focused on in a film series that is being developed called ‘The Last Hurdle’ about my life story. It is a ten-episode season, and I can’t talk right now about what happened after I fell over the last hurdle. That ended my career, and I never watched track and field from that point onward to the year 2000. It took me down a path of despair.
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After your career-ending injury and the ensuing time away from track and field, how did you return to the sport?
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In 2000, I went to the closet, got on my knees, and said, ‘Lord, Jesus, if you put me back in the lives of these athletes, I will serve them like no other.’ Then in 2004, God made it happen. I became the assistant coach for the U.S. Junior team. And I never looked back. It was nothing but the grace of God.
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As the USATF Assistant Manager of Alumni Relations, you worked with our Olympic teams in Beijing in 2008, in London in 2012 and in Rio de Janeiro in 2016. What are highlights of your overall experience from those three Olympic Games and of China, England, and Brazil?
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Beijing was the best Olympic Games for me personally. Their Opening Ceremony was the best ever. I’ve never seen any country top what the people in Beijing, China did. I liked the London Olympics. I wasn’t as impressed with the Opening Ceremony, but the Olympic Games were good. Rio was awesome.
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This year at the 2024 Paris Olympics you were USATF Senior Manager of Alumni Relations. I followed your social media posts, and it looked like you had an outstanding experience.
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Paris was phenomenal. What was great was engaging with the athletes. This is true from all the Olympics from 2008 to this year and at World Championships and Pan Am Games where I served. The most exciting thing in all the Olympics is being in the athletes’ lounge, and hearing them yelling and screaming for our teammates and our country as they watch on the big screen. There is nothing like it. You can be in the stadium, but I would rather be in the athletes’ lounge with the athletes any day. The way they embrace every race and cheer for their teammates is unbelievable.
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It seemed like the USA House was the place to be for current athletes, former athletes, fans, and coaches. It must have been the most exciting place.
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Yes, to hear everybody cheering, yelling, and screaming – it was electrifying.
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Paris is a great city. How was it for you to visit the Eiffel Tower, other sights, and did you truly get to enjoy the culture and excitement surrounding the Games?
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Yes, I made sure I had some down time, and I took in as much as I could. It was great. But, the athletes, the camaraderie, and the medals the U.S. took home from Paris were great. There is nothing like when athletes come together and represent the USA. It was a great atmosphere. Athletes respected each other and there was a great feeling.
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In 1996, I went to the Atlanta Olympics for two days and one of the fun activities was Olympic pin trading. How much do you enjoy Olympic pin trading with fans and other athletes?
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I have many videos of pin trading. There were so many people asking, ‘Do you have a pin?’ ‘Do you want a pin?’ ‘Do you want to trade a pin?’ For many people, a big highlight they look forward to is pin trading. I have lots of pins at my house and I need to get some type of case to display all of these magnificent pins.
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ATHLETICS AS A YOUTH AND IN HIGH SCHOOL Let’s go back to when you were young and started out in athletics. I recall as a youth playing all sorts of sports and games with my childhood buddies in the park. There were pick-up games, tag, two-man baseball and all kinds of fun activities that helped us to be fit in advance of organized sports in our teenage years. Was it like that for you?
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Most definitely. I played flag football. We played softball. I was a cheerleader and drum major. I was the first African American drum major at my school, and they haven’t had one since then. I played basketball and had a basketball scholarship offer to go to Old Dominion which was the real deal back then. The kids today don’t have a clue how much fun we had back in the day because they are so busy idolizing their games. They don’t go out and exercise like we did and then they wonder why they have injuries and may tear their ACL. They aren’t active and don’t move their bodies the way they were intended to move. They don’t get the exercise they need. Also, today’s parents are focused on one sport for the kids. The young athletes shouldn’t put their eggs in one basket. They should play a variety of sports. Youth are getting injured because they don’t have a variety of exercise. I didn’t start running track until my freshman year in high school because I was doing other activities.
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Your brother, Val Barksdale, played football at the University of Tennessee. How much of an inspiration was Val for you to want to become a successful athlete?
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He was the first true freshman to start for the University of Tennessee in football. I went to Tennessee because of him.
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Let’s discuss the coaches who worked with you as a youth who were Harriman High School’s Coach Andrew and also Olympian Ralph Boston during the summer. What did those two men do to help you progress as a track and field athlete?
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Coach Andrew was our Assistant Principal. I loved him and, bless his heart, rest in peace. Coach Andrew did not know much about track and field, but he put his heart and soul into it. I don’t even know how he produced the workouts, but he would give them to us, and we would do them. Ralph Boston saw me at a basketball game, and he saw my speed. He travelled down to Harriman and asked my mom if I could run for the Knoxville Track Club. My mother said, ‘I don’t know If I can get her up to Knoxville.’ But then my mother let me drive to Knoxville. She told me to go right up there to the University of Tennessee for track practice and then to come right back home. That’s what I did. Ralph was also my Godfather. I’ve been in Ralph’s life ever since I was seventeen years old. He had to talk my mother into letting me go to this all-girls camp in Denton, Texas. That is where I met a lot of the young girls who ended up going to college. Janet Davis was at camp and went to Florida State. That camp was a big step. My mother trusted Ralph. I trusted Ralph and, if it weren’t for him, I wouldn’t be the person I am today.
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I want to talk a bit about your late dad, Marcellus Barksdale, who died when you were young. I’ve read about how you made hurdles from your dad’s two by fours and bricks and taught yourself how to hurdle. It isn’t common for a young girl to decide, ‘I think I’ll make some hurdles from my dad’s construction materials.’ How did you decide to do this?
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He was a brick mason, among other things he did. He was laying some cement for my brother. Val played basketball and my dad was laying a basketball court in the back yard of our house. There were some two by fours and bricks laying around. I don’t what made me do it, but I lay the two by fours across the bricks, ran and jumped and would always knock the wood over. My brother told me, ‘You are never going to get across those two by fours.’ I said, ‘Yes, I am because I’m determined. Yes, I am.’ My father said, ‘Shree, don’t you ever stop trying. When you fall, get yourself up, dust yourself off and get out there to try again.’ That stood with me. I got up and was mad at my brother. I was determined to get over that two by four. I was talking to myself. I started running from where my father was laying the concrete and I cleared it. I yelled, ‘I did it! I did it!’ Dad said, ‘Come and give me a hug.’ He gave me a hug and that is how that came to be.
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Let’s review your prep track and field at Harriman High School where you started running as a freshman. I was able to find State Meet results from your sophomore year where you finished in fifth place in both the 100 yards and 220 yards. What do you recall from your first two years in high school from building up, getting faster, going to Conference meets and other post-season meets, making it to State, and being in the top five in two events?
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To be honest with you, the main part I know is that I didn’t make the top three. But, in order for me to go to the big meets, I had to go to the local track meets first. There was a lady, Missy Kane, who was later on the 1984 Olympic team, and she was coaching at Central High School. She came to Harriman, picked me up, and took me to track meets even though she knew I would be competing against her athletes. That shows how much love she had for me and how much faith she had in me to take me to these track meets. My freshman year I wanted to make it to State in the long jump and I didn’t make it to State. I missed it by one place. I wanted to be like my brother who ran well in track.
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You may not have made any top three positions in your sophomore year, but you did in four events your junior year. You were in third place in the 100 yards behind Sheryl Pernell of Memphis Southside who ran 10.9 seconds ahead of Pamela Bledsoe of Memphis Northside and you who both ran 11.1. In the 110 Low Hurdles Priscilla Gray of Hamilton won a close race in 14.2 seconds ahead of Judy Pollion of Kingsbury in 14.3 and you in 14.4. Judy Pollion won the long jump easily with a jump of 20-6 with you second at 18-11 ¼. Finally, you nipped Pollion to win the 220-yard dash by a tenth of a second in 24.7 seconds. What was it like competing against Judy Pollion, scoring four medals, and winning your first State title?
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I knew what I wanted to do because Ralph Boston was my rock. When I trained and raced with the Knoxville Track Club, I was with some beasts. That prepared me to go and compete at the State meet and at that level. You did your research well because I don’t even remember the race when I beat Judy to win my first time at State. Judy and I remain friends and talk to this day. We also competed in the pentathlon as well.
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| GCR: |
Your senior year you were on the top of the podium four times in the 100 yards, 100 low hurdles, long jump and 220 yards. Your times of 10.7 at 100 yards and 13.8 seconds over the low hurdles were both State Records. How amazing was it to succeed and win these four events with two State Records?
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| SB |
I wanted to go to Tennessee State, run for Coach Ed Temple and to be a Tiger Belle. When I won the four events, he still didn’t recruit me because he had signed other girls already. Beating the girls he had signed was the most gratifying racing I had done in my whole life.
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| GCR: |
COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS AT TENNESSEE You mentioned that you went to the University of Tennessee because your brother had gone there. What did Coach Terry Crawford do in the recruiting process that also led to you choosing to become a student-athlete at Tennessee?
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| SB |
I initially wasn’t planning to go to Tennessee. The late Coach Doctor Kenneth Gibson was at Old Dominion. He was at my house getting ready to sign me to go to Old Dominion because almost no one was recruiting me. The only other school recruiting me was Washington. I went there for a visit, and it rained every day. That was too depressing for me, so I decided not to go there. Coach Gibson was at my house with his assistant to sign me. My mother was entertaining them and we hadn’t signed yet. The telephone rang and I went to the kitchen and answered the phone. On the other end was Terry Crawford and, after finding out she was talking to me she said, ‘Sharrieffa, this is Terry Crawford from the University of Tennessee Lady Vols.’ My heart. I thought I was going to have a heart attack. I just stood there speechless. I said, ‘The Terry Crawford from the University of Tennessee?’ ‘Yes,’ she responded. ‘I want to offer you a scholarship.’ ‘Say what?’ She repeated, ‘I want to offer you a scholarship.’ I told her to hold on for a few seconds. I called my mother while Coach Gibson and his assistant were still sitting in the other room. ‘Mama, mama, this is Terry Crawford from the University of Tennessee, and she wants me to go there on a scholarship.’ She asked, ‘Is it a full scholarship because Old Dominion has a full scholarship?’ I said, ‘No, it’s partial, but I can move my way up and we can get financial aid because you are a single mom.’ She told me to tell Coach Gibson because she wasn’t going to. I went into the living room and said, ‘Coach Gibson, I appreciate you all coming here but I’m not going to sign a scholarship with you.’ He asked why and I said, ‘Because that was Coach Terry Crawford from the University of Tennessee. I’m going to go with them because I have always wanted to run track there.’ He said, ‘You know what, young lady? I can’t compete with the University of Tennessee. Good luck and I wish you the best.’ And that man was in my life from age seventeen until he passed away about three years ago. So, that’s how I ended up going to the University of Tennessee. Ralph Boston had prepared me and, when he called me the next day, he said, ‘Shree, when you go there, never be in the back of the pack with anybody. Let them see your back.’ And that stood with me from the time I was there until now. And I tell my children, ‘Don’t look at anybody’s back. Be in the front. You are the leader.’ That’s how it was. I was also the one who questioned my workouts. I wanted to know why I was doing a workout, what was its purpose and how it was going to help me.
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| GCR: |
Tennessee Coach Terry Crawford coached the Volunteers to multiple SEC team Championships in 1981, 1982 and 1983, the AIAW 1981 indoor second place, the AIAW 1981 outdoor Championship, and three NCAA runner-up finishes at 1982 indoor, 1982 outdoor and 1983 indoor. How exciting was it to train and race and have camaraderie with many of the same young ladies for several years and to hoist team trophies? Was it a phenomenal feeling to be a part of those teams and to be a part of so many great relay squads?
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| SB |
We set so many records. Our sprint medley relay set the World Record in 1981 at the AIAW Championships with Benita Fitzgerald, Cathy Rattray, Delisa Walton, and me. When we walked into a meet, everyone knew the Lady Vols were there and they had better show up to compete because we meant business. And we were a family. The camaraderie, the family and the bond were amazing. We used to play the song, ‘We are Family’ when we were warming up. Terry was a strict coach, but she was a fair coach. That is why all of her athletes love her to this day. Our AIAW Championship was decided by the mile relay. It was us and UCLA. I ran the second leg and held that spot. We knew that when Delisa got that baton, she was going to shift gears. Sure enough, she shifted gears on Sherrie Howard and that’s how we won. Bobby Kersee was coaching them and he was livid. Jackie Joyner-Kersee and I talk about it until this day because we are close friends and talk all the time. If looks could kill, Bobby’s look would have killed everybody on that track.
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| GCR: |
When we look at the Lady Vols relay teams, there was a core four of Joetta Clark, Cathy Rattray, Delisa Walton, and you for three years in a row that won National Championships in the 1981 and 1982 outdoor four by 400-meter relay and the 1983 indoor mile relay. Other great ladies were also part of relay teams when you raced. But how cool was it to have those three ladies racing with you and to share a bond with them?
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| SB |
My senior year, Cathy Rattray and I got an apartment together and we were roommates. We are best friends to this day. A very cool aside is that both of our daughters are in the entertainment field. Sandra Farmer-Patrick and Delisa Walton’s daughters are also in entertainment. It is crazy how things have come full circle. Our daughters ran track but, afterward, they all entered the entertainment industry. All of us are close to this day. We fought for our spots, but there was no jealousy. In practice, if you weren’t in the top two or three, you wouldn’t earn a spot on the relay. So, there was a battle for those relay berths.
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| GCR: |
The competition between Tennessee and Florida State must have been intense. At the 1982 NCAAs outdoors, you beat FSU in the relay by less than two tenths of a second. The Lady Vols won at 1984 NCAA indoors over FSU and then they got you back at 1984 NCAA outdoors. At a shorter distance, FSU won the 1983 4x100-meter relay, and you were a member of Tennessee’s third place squad. When your two teams were on the starting line in those relays, did you look at each other and think, ‘It’s on.’
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| SB |
Both teams had women who wanted to win and knew they could win. That made winning so much more special.
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| GCR: |
When you look back at your running career at the University of Tennessee, as a 12-time All-American, having won 11 SEC titles and being part of National Championship relays and teams, could it have gone any better?
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| SB |
Being there was a dream come true. For anyone who was a part of University of Tennessee track and field team when I was, all were top notch. We were the big, strong horse.
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| GCR: |
One of the great track and field venues is Franklin Field in Philadelphia for the Penn Relays where you won the 400-meter hurdles in both 1983 and 1984. What was it like in 1983 when you won in a time of 57.37, followed closely by Angela Wright of FSU in 57.62, Lori McCauley of Rutgers in 57.66 and Piper Bressant of Florida in 57.67 seconds? And what was it like racing and winning in front of tens of thousands of fans?
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| SB |
Winning that race in front of all of those people and against that caliber of athletes was so big. And I also won a big Penn Relays plaque. It wasn’t because of the hurdles race but, when we won the four by 400-meter relay, I ran the fastest split. So, Terry gave the winning relay team plaque to the relay member with the fastest split.
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| GCR: |
You defended your title in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Penn Relays. Often, it’s harder to defend a title than to win the first time. That must have been another great feeling to win again in front of tens of thousands of fans.
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| SB |
Yes, it was.
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| GCR: |
WRAPUP After your injury in 1986, you mentioned that you stayed away from the sport for many years. Can you tell us how you started training and racing again and ultimately competed as a 2008 USATF Masters athlete and were awarded the Masters Athlete of the Year by the USATF Kentucky Association?
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| SB |
It was something that I decided to try since I didn’t get to complete my career due to that injury. Coming back to the track was fun and not as serious as when I was younger. Johnny Gray, who is a best friend, said, ‘Let’s get you in shape to try out for the Olympics in the 800 meters.’ My mind said ‘Yes’ but my body said ‘No.’ Johnny sent me workouts. I didn’t think they were right for me, but I tried them. I went out to Los Angeles to train with Johnny. He also came to Kentucky to coach me.
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| GCR: |
After a lengthy career, there are often awards and accolades. How exciting was it for you to be inducted into the University of Tennessee and the State of Tennessee Sports HOF?
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| SB |
When I received the letter from the University of Tennessee informing me, it broke me. I cried and I cried, and I cried and I cried and I cried. It was way overdue. It was something I felt I deserved, and I was glad they decided to put me in the University of Tennessee. What was so gratifying was to be inducted beside Willie Gault, Peyton Manning, Johnny Majors, and all of these great individuals. There were seventy-five of us because the men didn’t have a Hall of Fame until that year. There were three women inducted that time with all these men. To be inducted was overwhelming. When I received the telephone call that I was going to be inducted into the entire State of Tennessee Hall of Fame, I was stunned. It was totally overwhelming. I would be there with Ralph Boston and Wilma Rudolph. On the day of the induction ceremony, I had got myself so wound up that I was sick. Right before it started, I was on the floor passed out. I was so overwhelmed that little Sharrieffa Barksdale from Harriman, Tennessee was getting ready to be inducted. That was crazy.
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| GCR: |
You were one of the early proponents of the 400-meter hurdles for women. You may not have planned it, but you were a trailblazer who showed the way to other young ladies. What has it been like the last several years watching Dalilah Muhammad, Sydney Mclaughlin-Levrone, Femke Bol and Anna Cockrell race amazingly fast in your event?
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| SB |
They have put their names on the 400-meter hurdles, especially Sydney. I’ve known Sydney and she has been with me on National teams since she was sixteen years old. All of these ladies have put a different mark and name on the 400-meter hurdles. All of them are great. But Sydney is a beast on top of a beast on top of a beast on top of a beast. She trusts the process of Coach Bobby Kersee. She is one of a kind. The rest of them are up there. But Sydney is special. She is different. What I truly love about her is her belief and her faith for God. She doesn’t care who knows who she serves. And when people put God first, great things happen. Without God, we are nothing. God allows us to stay healthy to do what we do. It is He who paves the way. He knows our destiny before we achieve it. This is what I instilled in my children, put God first and life is much greater. Sydney is one in a million. I have never seen anyone like her in my entire life.
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| GCR: |
Let’s chat a bit about your current fitness program. I saw your post in August that USATF employees competed in the Indiana Sports Corp Corporate Challenge where you ran 3,000 meters for 15th place out of 276 entrants and, less than an hour later, finished in third place of 67 entrants in the 800 meters. You must be training regularly to maintain that level of fitness.
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| SB |
Most definitely. I have a group of ladies who work out after we get off work. Our body is our temple and how we treat our body affects the outcome of how we live the rest of our life. My mother is ninety-six years old, and almost ninety-seven. She looks like she is no more than eighty. She has a clear mind, looks great and lives by herself. At one point, I let myself go. I ate everything and got up to two hundred and twenty pounds. Now I am down to a hundred fifty-two pounds. People couldn’t tell when I gained all that weight because it was mostly muscle. But, when I look at those pictures from back then and look at myself now, I think, ‘What the heck was I doing?’
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| GCR: |
Let’s discuss a bit more about what you do to help others through the Sharrieffa Barksdale Track Foundation which included rebuilding the track facility and the Hershey Run/Jump/Throw event. How important and exciting is it for you to work with kids?
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| SB |
My degree is in early childhood development. Also, when I was young, I worked with the Parks and Recreation Department. This is a passion for me because I want children to succeed in life no matter what they do. Once the Sharrieffa Barksdale Track Foundation completes the track project, my goal is to have an after-school program for athletes who are struggling in math and reading. If these kids don’t have good knowledge and grades in reading and math to get into college, what is the use for them in running track? They won’t be able to go to college without good grades and, if they have the opportunity, they could become the next Olympians to come out of Harriman, Tennessee. Through my foundation, I would like to hire tutors to help the kids in Harriman and then expand across the whole United States and tap into helping disadvantaged children who can’t afford a laptop computer. Some of these kids have to go to the library to access a computer and their parents may not have transportation or time available due to their work schedules to take the kids to the library. I would like to purchase refurbished laptops and give them to children who are in need. It will take a while because I am focused on getting that track rebuilt. But that is my future goal – to enable these children to think beyond their current thinking. I want to make sure that these kids don’t let not having a laptop or tablet hinder them from being the best they can be academically as well as on the track. Also, when the track refurbishment is complete, I will have track clinics and bring in some of the Olympians.
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| GCR: |
What are the major lessons you have learned during your life from the discipline that running encourages, balancing aspects of life, coaching others, and any adversity you have faced that encompasses the philosophy of Sharrieffa Barksdale which will encourage people to reach their potential as a runner and as a human being?
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| SB |
I started a dance group for kids and built it around my son and daughter. We would do praise dance and travel to many places. Each child had to say, ‘I am somebody. I will let nothing stand in my way. The words can’t and no are not in my vocabulary. They are only in the books that I read.’ That is what I tell everyone. That is my slogan. That is what I talk about. No one should have the power over anyone to tell them what they can be, who they can be, that they are nothing and will be nothing. Kids believe this when they are growing up when parents tell them that. I speak and instill positivity in everyone’s lives. I’m a positive person. Everyone knows when I come into work because I have a smile and happy greeting and bring positive energy into work. You better have a positive attitude or step aside because I’m not going to entertain your negativity.
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Inside Stuff |
| Hobbies/Interests |
I love yardwork. During the springtime and summer, I have the prettiest yard with flowers in my neighborhood. I love to write songs. I sing. I wrote a song called ‘Love is Blind – You Can’t See the Forest for the Trees.’ My daughter produced that video, and it is on my Instagram page. I love to take pictures. I also love to cook, but I don’t cook often. I don’t cook like I used to because my children don’t live close by anymore. So, working in the yard, music, photography, and cooking are my hobbies
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| Nicknames |
I was called ‘Shree’ that rhymes with tree by my family. The athletes I work with call me ‘Miss Sharrieffa’
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| Favorite movies |
I don’t like love stories. I like dramas, action-packed movies, and scary movies. I haven’t found a scary movie that has scared me yet. I can watch them all day long. I also like comedy
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| Favorite TV shows |
‘The Andy Griffith Show’ because Andy taught Opie that being honest and having integrity means everything no matter what you do. That’s why it is my favorite
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| Favorite music |
‘Prince.’ When he died, I cried and didn’t go to work for a whole week
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| Favorite books |
My favorite author is Sidney Sheldon, and my favorite book is ‘Master of the Game.’ It is wonderful
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| First car |
When I graduated from high school, I drove an orange Datsun 210
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| Current car |
A Range Rover
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| First Job |
Working in the Parks and Recreation Department
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| Family |
My family is all successful because that is what my parents instilled in us. They taught us that nothing in life is free. If someone seems to be getting something for free, there is a reason why because whomever is giving the ‘free’ items wants something on the back end. That is what I told my children. My family is very close. I did lose my brother, Val, at age forty-six with pancreatic cancer. My sister, Darlene, was a biology teacher and another sister, Trellis, was a speech pathologist. My youngest sister, Phadra, who was a self-made millionaire with a contract from NASA, passed away three years ago from a massive heart attack the same as my father did, so heart disease does run in my family. Another sister worked in Chattanooga for a company where she made insurance claims. We all graduated from college. Since the time when my father died in 1992, my mother never remarried and never even dated. She tells me she plans to meet our father in heaven when she dies. That’s the way it is with us. I’m the first person to divorce in my family. Everyone else is ’til death do us part.’ I’ve been divorced for twenty-two years and am not looking to marry. I love my life very much. When people understand it is okay to live alone and respect themselves, they can do it. When you first go through a breakup, it is hard, but this too shall pass. I can’t imagine being in a relationship because there isn’t a man who can tell Sharrieffa what to do. I know who I am and what I am, so I won’t even listen. I’m not going to have someone tell me when I’m travelling for USA Track and Field that I’m travelling too much, or I’m gone too much. I would be gone so fast it would make someone’s head swim. But I’m not even looking. If I thought about that, it would probably make my stomach hurt. My son, Javarus, lives in Phoenix and my daughter, Gentel, lives in Los Angeles. She is an actress and is blowing up out there
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| Pets |
After my poodle passed when I was a senior in high school, I never wanted a dog and never had one. Javarus, my son, went to get a pizza one time and they had this Chocolate Labrador. Well, it came home, and I have had ‘Nike’ ever since. I love ‘Nike,’ who is such a sweet dog. And I love my daughter’s dog, ‘Dixie Chanel.’ She is a hot mess. She is a diva. So, I have two grand dogs because my children are not married and don’t have any kids
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| Favorite breakfast |
I don’t eat breakfast now but, if I did, it would be hash browns, bacon, sausage, eggs, and pancakes
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| Favorite meal |
Roast beef with potatoes, macaroni and cheese, greens, carrots with onions, corn bread and cole slaw. I can’t wait to go our west and to cook for my daughter and my son for Thanksgiving and Christmas
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| Favorite beverages |
I don’t drink alcohol, along with not smoking. I drink water and also like orange juice
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| First athletic memory |
We didn’t have any youth track events. I was a cheerleader. I would play on the girls’ basketball team, take a shower, and change into my cheerleading outfit. Then I would cheer for the boys’ basketball team. That has not been accomplished by anyone since I left Harriman High School
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| First track and field memory |
Having fun and knowing that I was travelling with my brother
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| Athletic heroes |
Of course, my brother was my hero. My brother was ‘Mister Basketball,’ a football player and he ran track. I wanted to be just like Val. As an adult, I was living in Orlando, Florida and Val wanted me to move to Lexington, Kentucky. I said, ‘The day I move to Kentucky will be when they win a National Championship in football, basketball, track or whatever.’ Lo and behold, Tubby Smith coached the men’s basketball team to the National Championship in 1996 and that is when I moved to Lexington, Kentucky where I lived for twenty-two years until I came to USA Track and Field. My other heroes included Wilma Rudolph for track and field. Also, Miss Caroline Bush, who was on the 1976 USA Pan Am Games basketball team when I was in middle school. We used to watch them play. She looked like a giant and I wanted to play basketball just like her. She lives in Roane County, has been inducted into at least five halls of fame and she sits on my board of directors. I love Ernie Grunfeld and Bernard King. We used to go to Tennessee to watch them play basketball. Of course, a hero was Pat Head, Tennessee basketball coach
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| Greatest track and field moments |
Making the 1984 Olympic team, setting the American Record for 400-meter hurdles, and winning the Silver Medal at the Pan Am Games
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| Worst track and field moment |
In 1986 falling over the last hurdle
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| Childhood dreams |
I wanted to be a teacher
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| Favorite places to travel |
I love L.A. I could live there. When I ran track, I loved Zurich. It was the spot
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| Choose a Superhero – Batman or Spiderman? |
Neither one - Superman
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| Choose a theme park – Disney World or Universal Studios? |
Neither - Six Flags Over Georgia
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| Choose the beach or mountains? |
The beach
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| Choose a Sylvester Stallone - Rocky or Rambo? |
Rambo
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| Choose a tough guy – Vin Diesel or The Rock? |
Neither. But I do have three - Denzel Washington, Samuel L. Jackson and Wesley Snipes
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| Choose a comedian - Chris Rock or Kevin Hart? |
My two are Richard Pryor and Dave Chappelle
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| Choose a quarterback - Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson? |
Patrick Mahomes and Donovan McNabb
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| Final comments |
You most definitely were on top of things and are probably the best interviewer I have had. I appreciate you taking the time and opportunity to choose me to do an interview. It will be wonderful to see you again at the USATF annual meetings in Orlando. One final thing I would like to mention is that we are still looking for donations for the Sharrieffa Barksdale Track Foundation. No amount is too small or too large. We will accept any donations. I appreciate any efforts wholeheartedly and will be grateful. Once again thank you for interviewing me, I appreciate it, and I will see you in a few weeks down in Florida. Have a blessed week
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