Sha’Carri Richardson is back on track.
The track star has earned her biggest win since the Tokyo Olympic Trials and the most prestigious international race victory of her career at the Diamond League season opener in Doha.
On Friday, Richardson defeated all competition in the 100m event, finishing in 10.76 seconds, the world’s best time this year. The field included the last two world 200m champions — Jamaican Shericka Jackson and Brit Dina Asher-Smith, who came in second and third.
“I found my peace back on the track, and I’m not letting anything, or anybody takes that anymore,” Richardson said, adding that she got “kicked out” of the 100m at her last meet in Botswana last Saturday, where she ran the 200m instead.
She also beat most of the rest of the top Americans, including 2022 U.S. champion Melissa Jefferson and TeeTee Terry, who anchored the U.S. to the 2022 World 4x100m relay title.
She is the only U.S. woman to break 10.80 seconds since 2017, NBC News reported.
Richardson is expected to compete well at July’s USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships, which includes the top three in the 100m that are in line to qualify for August’s world championships in Budapest.
“Y’all say I’m back,” Richardson said before Doha. “I’m not back. I’m better.”
She has yet to compete in a global championship.
In 2019, Richardson entered nationals ranked No. 1 in the nation in the 100m, and in 2021, she won the Olympic Trials but was disqualified after testing positive for marijuana
Last year, she was eliminated in the 100m first round at nationals.
“I feel like I ain’t done, and I’m the queen,” Richardson said then.
Discover more from Baller Alert
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
