American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson capped her comeback on Monday with a gold medal at the world championships in the longest 100-meter dash this side of the Olympics, two years after testing positive for marijuana.
The 23-year-old’s victory in 10.65 seconds over Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson and five-time world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce capped a comeback that was two years in the making and lived up to the mantra that she… throughout the year – and repeated again after her last win: ‘I’m not back.’ I’m better.’
Two summers ago, after the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon, Richardson’s path to the Tokyo Games was blocked by a positive marijuana test.
Her name has become the litmus test in a wide-ranging debate about race, fairness, the often impenetrable anti-doping rulebook and, ultimately, the sometimes razor-thin line between right and wrong.
Richardson said she soaked it all up, surrounding herself with supporters and trying to drown out the rest. “I would say, ‘Never give up,'” she said when asked about the message this win sent.
Sha’Carri Richardson won the women’s 100 meter final at the World Athletics Championships
Richardson wins the race after finishing the race 0.07 seconds ahead of the next runner
She posed with silver medalist Shericka Jackson and bronze medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
“Never allow the media, never outsiders, never allow anything other than yourself and your beliefs to define who you are.” I would say, “Always fight. No matter what, fight.”
She fought for this victory in a field with four of the eight fastest sprinters in history.
She struggled as the vagaries of the course rules pushed her into what is known as the “semi-finals of death,” where she faced Jackson and Marie-Josée Ta Lou, who finished fifth and eighth all-time in a race in which only the best competed two finishers were guaranteed places in the final.
In this semi-final, Richardson got off to a miserable start, having to improve from seventh to third in a 10.84. Her time was the fastest of any non-qualifier and so she made it to the final.
Just 70 minutes later she lined up on the edge of the course in lane 9 for the gold medal sprint, a task as difficult as it is because you can’t feel how the top contenders – or anyone else for that matter – is doing right now .
It made no difference. Despite having the third slowest start in the field, nobody got too far ahead. In the end it was a race between her and Jackson. Jackson crossed and, not yet understanding what Richardson was doing on the outside, looked at the scoreboard as if she might have won.
But Richardson beat them by 0.07 seconds, Fraser-Pryce by 0.12 and Ta Lou by 0.16. The 10.65 was a world championship record – Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 35-year-old world record of 10.49 still stands – and set Jackson’s world best time that year.
Even though Richardson edged Jackson 2-0 in head-to-head this year, she was still a 5-1 loser in the race – partly because she was a newcomer to Worlds and was competing against a field that included 38 Olympic and 38 Olympic Games had collected world championship medals between them.
Richardson posed alongside her time and held up the American flag after her win
For the gold medal sprint on Monday, she lined up at the edge of lane 9
The new champion looked stunned as she crossed the finish line. She blew a kiss skyward, took one look at the beautiful scoreboard and dazedly walked to the stands to accept the American flag and congratulations from Fraser-Pryce, Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith and others.
“All the strong hitters wanted to do their best, so it helped me to do my best, too,” Richardson said. “I stand next to living legends. It feels remarkable.”
Richardson seemed poised to be America’s next sprint star as she rode to a trials win two years ago with flowing orange hair down her back. But that victory was quickly forgotten after she tested positive for marijuana – a doping violation she readily admitted, saying she was unwell following the recent death of her mother.
A heated debate ensued – much of it ignited on social media – about whether marijuana, not a performance enhancer, really belonged on the banned list (it still stands), but also whether regulators were too keen on targeting teenagers , outspoken black american woman (they said the rules are the same for everyone).
Things have been downhill for Richardson for a while, both off and on track. She finished ninth on her much-touted suspension return at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic. Last year she didn’t make the world championship team.
“A year ago she was in no-man’s-land and didn’t make the team,” said her agent, former hurdler Renaldo Nehemiah.
“And then to come back and finally find her happy place, which is on the track, and not trying to compete with any negative influences out there.” I told her personally, “On your best day, you’re never going to win this fight. “
Late last summer, Richardson revealed her soul in a live chat on social media, urging people to find their true self just as she had done.
Richardson received congratulations from Fraser-Pryce and Dina Asher-Smith (right)
Richardson – pictured crossing the finish line, left – beat second-place finisher Jackson by 0.07 seconds
After that message was sent, she set about fixing things at the track.
But when asked about her biggest win, what exactly she fixed, be it on track or off-road, she didn’t comment on technique, speed or tactics.
“You bring who you are to the track.” “You bring your athlete into your life,” she said. “Just knowing that people know me not only as an athlete but also as a person.” There’s no separate, honestly.
“So I’m glad I can show who I really am.” Not my pain. Not my sadness. I’m glad I can sit here and be happy with my home and just know it all paid off.”