Richardson books Olympic ticket
‘I feel every chapter I’ve been through in my life designed and prepared me for this moment’
EUGENE (AFP) — World champion Sha’Carri Richardson earned a chance for Olympic redemption after winning the 100-meter run at the US athletics trials on Saturday, booking her ticket to the Paris Games.
Three years after a positive marijuana test saw her kicked off the US team for the Tokyo Olympics, Richardson captured the women’s 100m final in 10.71 seconds with Melissa Jefferson second in 10.80 seconds and Twanisha Terry third in 10.89 seconds.
Richardson surged to the lead in the middle of the race and crossed the finish line in this year’s worldbest time with a wind of 0.8m/sec at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. “I feel honored,” Richardson said. “I feel every chapter I’ve been through in my life designed and prepared me for this moment.”
“I cannot wait to go to Paris and represent.”
Reigning men’s 100m world champion Noah Lyles began his quest for Olympic gold in the event by leading all semi-final qualifiers from men’s preliminary heats in 9.92 seconds.
Richardson hopes to capture Olympic gold in the 100m final at the Stade de France on 3 August.
Not since Gail Devers in 1996 has an American woman been crowned an Olympic 100m champion.
The 24-year-old Texan won her preliminary heat on Friday in 10.88 seconds, leading all qualifiers despite a slight stumble at the start, and won her Saturday semifinal in 10.86 seconds, the best time of any finalist despite a slow start.
She was behind again at the start but quickly made up the time and charged to victory.
“Definitely didn’t have the best start, but had a better start than my other rounds,” Richardson said.
Three years ago, Richardson appeared set for the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics after winning at the US trials in 10.86 seconds.
But dreams of Olympic gold were shattered when it was revealed she had tested positive for marijuana, resulting in a one-month suspension that banned her from Tokyo.
Plans to revive her career at the 2022 World Championships failed when she bombed out of the US trials.
Richardson, however, roared back into form in 2023 with a thrilling 100m triumph at the World Championships in Budapest, taking the crown in a championship record of 10.65 seconds.