Since dominating her signature race at the 2021 US Olympic Trials, only to have her big win overturned due to a positive marijuana test, Sha’Carri Richardson had worked to get to this moment.
America’s best-known sprint star knelt on the starting blocks, a look of determination etched on his face. The second chance she had longed for for three long years was finally here. Redemption was just a 100 meter dash away.
As the starting gun went off, Richardson seized the moment and secured his place at next month’s Paris Olympics. She outperformed the rest of the women’s 100 meter field at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials, crossing the finish line in first place in a world-leading 10.71 seconds.
Joining Richardson in a bear hug after crossing the finish line were two of his training partners under coach Dennis Mitchell. Melissa Jefferson secured her spot in Paris by taking second place in 10.80 seconds, as did Twanisha Terry, who held on for third place in 10.89.
“Every chapter I’ve gone through in my life was designed to prepare me for this moment,” Richardson told NBC’s Lewis Johnson. “I can’t wait to go to Paris and represent.”
In the first two qualifying rounds of the women’s 100 meters, Richardson didn’t come close to executing her start the way she wanted. She staggered out of the blocks with her right shoe untied on Friday, but she still rallied from last place to win her preliminary heat in 10.88 seconds. Her start in the semi-final was also slow, but she again outperformed the rest of the field to win in 10.86 seconds.
“That tells me I’m ready,” she told NBC in a post-race interview. “I just need to put it all together.”
A mediocre start didn’t leave her that far behind in Saturday’s final. That was all she needed to surpass the rest of the field without even sprinting to the finish line.
Richardson’s strong performance further cements her as the gold medal favorite in the women’s 100 meters. Not only does she appear fit and confident, but Jamaica’s decorated trio of veteran sprinters have not shown the same dominance as they did three years ago when they swept the women’s 100m podium in Tokyo.
Elaine Thompson-Herah, the first woman to win the sprint double at consecutive Olympics, finished last in her first 100 meters of the season in May and then suffered a premature Achilles tendon injury in early June. Reigning 200m world champion Shericka Jackson has not achieved great times so far this season, nor has the legendary Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, 37, who won in less than 11.15 seconds in the time. her. Only 100 meter race so far this season.
Two American college students who could have challenged Richardson in Paris also failed to qualify in the women’s 100 meters. Ole Miss’ McKenzie Long, the NCAA champion in both the 100 and 200 earlier this month, finished fourth in her semifinal heat Saturday and failed to advance. at the end. Tennessee’s Jacious Sears, previously the world leader in the 100 this season, withdrew from the trials earlier in the week as a result of an injury she suffered at the SEC Championships.
That Richardson avoided a similar fate was surely a relief to NBC executives and the many corporations that hired her as a promoter. Richardson’s bid for her redemption promises to make her one of the standout athletes at the Paris Games.
Three years ago, Richardson was one of the faces of the Tokyo Olympics without even being there. When Richardson revealed that she had used marijuana after learning of the death of her biological mother, the debate over the fairness of her suspension attracted more attention than even a gold medal.
Richardson’s followers on Instagram surpassed two million. Beats by Dre, owned by Nike and Apple, featured her in advertising campaigns. The list of celebrities expressing their support for Richardson included everyone from Seth Rogen and Cardi B to Patrick Mahomes and Megan Rapinoe.
It took Richardson a year to regain his pre-marijuana suspension form, but he has recently run with his trademark confidence and swagger. Richardson, who competed in her first world championships last summer, took gold in the 100 and bronze in the 200. She opened her 2024 season at the Prefontaine Classic in late May by beating a strong field in the 100.
Now Richardson will aim to become the first U.S. gold medalist in the women’s 100 meters since Gail Devers in 1996.
As Richardson herself said last summer: “I have not come back. I’m better.”