American National Athlete, Sha’Carri Richardson, has clocked her biggest win since the Tokyo Olympic Trials with a speed of 10.76 seconds during her race at the Diamond League season opener in Doha.
Richardson won the 100m in 10.76 seconds, the world’s best time, beating the last two world 200m champions, NBC Sports reported. Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson and Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith came in second and third at the event.
Richardson also beat most of the top American athletes, including Melissa Jefferson, 2022 U.S. champion, and Tee Tee Terry, the champion of the U.S. 2022 World 4x100m relay title. Richardson is the only U.S. athlete to break the 10.80 seconds record since the start of 2017, which she has accomplished five times.
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Richardson appeared at the Doha meet in a Nike-sponsored green racing kit, a more toned-down appearance in contrast to her usual bright flamboyant looks. Before the race, Richardson announced, “Y’all say I’m back. I’m not back. I’m better.” She also admitted in an interview that “I found my peace back on the track, and I’m not letting anything or anybody take that anymore.”
The athlete was disqualified from the Tokyo Summer Olympics two years ago after testing positive for marijuana and was suspended for one month after the incident. She admitted to using marijuana after she lost her mother. Although she went on to complete a counseling program, she did not compete in the event. Richardson was expected to make headlines at the Olympic Games after qualifying for the 100m.
The record-breaking sprinter has not yet competed in any global championship, but has set her eyes on the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics. Last year, she sent out a tweet that questioned the racial difference in the way Russian figure skater, Kamila Valieva, was allowed to compete in the Olympics, even though she failed her drug test, whereas she was suspended.
Richardson emerged first in the nation’s 100m race in 2019 and won the Olympic trials in 2021, but was unable to continue due to her drug use at the time. Even though she was eliminated from last year’s national 100m and was kicked out of a race, she still motivated herself, saying “I feel like I ain’t done, and I’m the queen.” Last month she earned her title as the third woman ever to run fast in any condition, joining the likes of Flo-Jo and Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson-Hera.
This new record increases Richardson’s chances at competing at July’s USA Track and Field Outdoor Championships, where the top three winners in the 100m will be in the running for the world championships happening in August in Budapest.
