On Monday, August 21, Sha’Carri Richardson pulled off a shock upset at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, securing the gold medal in the 100-metre sprint. The openly LGBTQ+ runner finished in a time of 10.65 seconds, a new record for the competition.
Richardson came from behind to overtake race favourites – Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Jackson, who came into the tournament with the fastest time, led for 80m before ultimately finishing in second place. Meanwhile, reigning world champion Fraser-Pryce settled for bronze.
The outcome came as somewhat of a surprise, as the American athlete only managed to qualify for the final as a fast loser, having scraped a third-place finish in the semis. As a result, she was also placed in the outside lane for the race, an unpopular position for sprinters.
Nonetheless, the 23-year-old overcame the odds, cementing herself back into the elite ranks of women’s track after two years of disappointment.
10.65 championship record ?
Sha’Carri Richardson is your 100m world champion ?#WorldAthleticsChamps pic.twitter.com/pD6dJSPMID
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 21, 2023
In 2021, as Richardson prepared to compete in the Olympics, she was suspended from the sport by the US Anti-Doping Agency after testing positive for marijuana. The sprinter admitted that she had taken the drug in Oregon, where it is legal, after learning of her mother’s passing.
While she was only banned from racing for a month, it meant that she missed the Tokyo Games, and it marked the beginning of a “tough time” for the athlete.
Following her win at the World Championships, Sha’Carri Richardson advised those watching to “never give up”.
“Never allow media, never allow outsiders, never allow anything but yourself and your fate to define who you are. I would say always fight. No matter what. Fight,” she continued.
Furthermore, she repeated her mantra, which she’s been saying all year: “I’m not back. I’m better.”
The win puts her in a better position than ever to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
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