EUGENE, Ore. — Is it Sha’Carri Richardson time? If the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials are any indication, the answer appears to be yes.
Richardson won the women’s 100 meters in a record time of 10.71 seconds.
Richardson had a sluggish start, but accelerated by the other sprinters at 60 meters and crossed the line well in advance to punch his ticket to the Paris Olympics.
“This time around, I feel like it was more — definitely still confident, still my normal, exciting self, but more so an overwhelming feeling of joy,” Richardson said after the race.
The reigning world champion won the first heat of the 100 meters despite a poor start and a loose lace. She ran alongside the other sprinters in the semifinals, then made an impressive statement in the final.
Melissa Jefferson ran a personal best 10.80 to place second. Twanisha Terry finished third with a time of 10.98.
Richardson, Jefferson and Terry, who all train together, will qualify for the Paris Olympics.
“It definitely validates the year we’ve been training for. We’re preparing for this moment, it’s a full circle moment,” Richardson said. “We’re grateful and appreciative and I’m very excited to grow and build on this momentum that we’ve already established.
“It’s beyond exciting to continue moving forward with my daughters. We didn’t alert the world, the world already knew. … We knew this moment could be possible if we put our mind to it, our body and our mind.
Richardson is in the midst of an impressive period in his career. She won gold at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, she beat a strong international field at the Prefontaine Classic and now she’s added another first place at the U.S. Trials. Her performances made her one of the brightest stars heading to Paris.
This is the second time Richardson has qualified for the Olympics in the 100m. But Richardson made international news after the 2021 Olympic Trials when she tested positive for THC. She was then suspended for a month and her ban extended to the Olympic 100 meters.
This time, however, Richardson is not only ready to compete in Paris, but she also enters the Olympics as the top seed in the 100.
“Everything I’ve been through is everything I’ve been through right now,” Richardson said. “And I would say coming into the (Olympics), I don’t set a time, I just know that if I execute and run the race that I trained and prepared for, the time comes with it. I’m just excited to go out there and run a well-executed race.
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