Sha’Carri Richardson took home the gold in a triumphant performance for the women’s 100 at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Richardson matched a championship world record time with 10.65 seconds, outsprinting Jamaica’s Sherika Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce who took home silver and bronze.
She made her global championship debut after missing out on last year’s world championship team due to an injury.
In 2021, Richardson received scrutiny after her 100m win at the Olympic Trials was disqualified for a positive marijuana test. She accepted a one-month ban and later revealed she was mourning the death of her mother.
Two years later she remains one of the biggest draws in the sport. “I’m here, I told y’all,” she told a reporter after the race.
After her win, Richardson also spoke about the symbolism of running on the outside lane.
“I was by myself in my own world, which honestly has been like that all my life. I’ve always been in my own world, my own element, so being in lane 9 was perfect for me to do what it is I know to do and to focus in more on myself. And when I celebrated it was because I felt like I did my best no matter what the result was going to be. I felt like I did my best.”
She added “Never allow media, never allow outsiders, never allow anything but yourself and your faith to define who you are. I would say, ‘Always fight. No matter what, fight.’”
Sha’Carri Richardson will race tomorrow’s preliminary heats and is one of six women in the pool for the US 4×100-meter relay team.