Sha’Carri Richardson on course for the Olympic Games in Paris with top 100 time in the opening round of the trials
Sha’Carri Richardson’s campaign for her first Olympic Games is off to a solid start.
Richardson breezed through the opening round of the women’s 100-meter race on Friday night. The sprinter ran a time of 10.88 seconds to finish first in the opening round of competition and advance to the semifinals of the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials.
She didn’t get off to a good start and one of her shoelaces seemed to come loose, but she recovered, won her heat and set the best overall time.
“I definitely didn’t have the start I had trained for at that moment. But I still didn’t panic, stayed patient and knew that I would continue running my race no matter what happened,” Richardson said after her victory on NBC.
The semifinals and final of the women’s 100 m are both scheduled for Saturday.
Get Olympic updates in your texts! Join the USA TODAY Sports WhatsApp channel
Incredible race by Sha’Carri Richardson! 😱 #TrackFieldTrials24 pic.twitter.com/UHdKfVwHgV
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) 22 June 2025
“It’s been really nice to see her now really understanding what it means to be the face of sprinting. That brings a lot,” NBC track and field commentator Sanya Richards-Ross said of Richardson this week. “I think she has a real chance to be an Olympic champion, given how the women’s 100-meter race is going.”
Richardson’s season-best time of 10.83 is the third fastest time in the world this year. The 24-year-old sprinter is coming off a stellar 2023 season that saw her win her first World Championship in the 100-meter dash. She picked up a second gold medal as part of the U.S. team’s victorious 4×100-meter relay. She also won a bronze medal at the World Championship in the 200-meter dash.
Richardson is aiming to compete in the Olympics for the first time in her career.
Richardson qualified for the Tokyo Olympics by winning the 100 meters at the 2020 Olympic Trials. However, Richardson tested positive for THC and was subsequently suspended for one month. Her suspension also extended to the Olympic 100 meters.
Richardson is one of the U.S. athletes to watch in the Olympic track and field qualifiers, according to USA TODAY Sports.
“I’m prepared, I just need to put it all together,” Richardson said.
Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sha’Carri Richardson easily advances to 100m semifinals at U.S. Track Trials
