Sha’Carri Richardson has slowly climbed her way back to the top after she tested positive for marijuana and was suspended for one month ahead of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics.
The U.S. Track and Field championships are being held this weekend in Eugene, Oregon, and Richardson is on a mission to win it all. She recorded her personal best time in the women’s 100 meters on Thursday. She ran a world-leading time of 10.71 seconds to win the first of four heats. After the hot start, many chose her as one of the favorites to win the weekend, and they were not wrong.
The Favorite
Richardson’s fast start was in the preliminary round. She kept that same energy for Friday with a 10.75 in the semifinals, and then cruised to a victory in the final with a 10.82 clocking in the final.
“What she just did in the first round, she’s the favorite,” NBC track and field analyst Ato Boldon said to USA Today Sports after Richardson’s scintillating opening heat. “That 10.71 that she just ran is a personal-best. It looks like if the wind cooperates (Friday) she could run a 10.5 here.”
Richardson was able to edge out Brittany Brown and and Tamara Clark. Brown came in second place with a time of 10.96 seconds and Clark finished in third place with a time of 11.02 seconds.
Year to Remember
The 23-year-old has bounced back in 2023. She started her dominance in April after coming in first in the 100 in 10.57 seconds at the Miramar Invitational. The wind during the race was over the legal limit, but the time nonetheless was the fourth-fastest ever run under any conditions by a woman. It was her first win on the track in two years.
In May, she won the 100 meters at the Diamond League event in Doha with a time of 10.76 seconds.
She followed those two performances with another victory at Star Athletics Sprint Series in Montverde, Florida. She recorded her second-best time of 10.73 seconds.
Now Richardson has secured a spot on the U.S. national team and has a chance to compete for her first world title in August at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
