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Sha'Carri Richardson defeated the current Olympic Gold Medalist, Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah, in the 100m sprint at the Spitzen Leichtathletik track meet in Switzerland. Sha'Carri ran 11.29 seconds against the wind, with Elaine coming in behind her at 11.30 seconds. The pair have shared a competitive rivalry, and this is Richardson's first win against her Jamaican counterpart.
The former LSU track star's fans have been hoping for a turnaround in her career after a positive marijuana test at the Olympic Trials in Oregon disqualified her from running at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Following the controversy of her disqualification and the death of her biological mother, the sprinter released a short documentary about her life and her best time of 10.72 seconds, in the film Sub Eleven Seconds https://subelevenseconds.com/. That time ranked her as the sixth-fastest woman to run the 100m.
The media controversy surrounding her ban from the Tokyo Olympics likely contributed to some of her poor performances, as she no longer appeared to be focused. Richardson finished last place at the Prefontaine Classic last summer, running 11.14. When reporters asked her about her poor performance, she told the NBC network, "Coming out today, it was a great return back to the sport. I wanted to be able to come and perform, having a month off, dealing with all I was dealing with. I'm not upset at myself at all. This is one race. I'm not done. You know what I'm capable of. Count me out if you want to, talk all the [stuff] you want because I'm here to stay. I'm not done."
Best of luck, Sha'Carri!
Photo Credits: Sha'Carri Richardson and Elaine Thompson-Herah via Instagram
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