Sha'Carri Richardson is an American track and field sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. Richardson rose to fame in 2019 as a freshman at Louisiana State University, running 10.75 seconds to break the 100 m collegiate record at the NCAA Division I Championships. This winning time made her one of the ten fastest women in history at 19 years old.
In April 2021, Richardson ran a new personal best of 10.72 seconds, becoming the sixth-fastest woman of all time (at the time) and the fourth-fastest American woman in history. She qualified for the 2020 Summer Olympics after winning the women's 100-metre dash with 10.86 in the United States Olympic Trials. On July 1, it was reported that Richardson had tested positive for cannabis use following her 100 m final at the U.S. Trials, invalidating her win and making her ineligible to compete in the 100 m at the Olympics. After successfully completing a counseling program, she accepted a one-month period of ineligibility that began on June 28, 2021. In July 2023, she became the US national champion in the women's 100 metres at the 2023 USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, running 10.82 seconds.
Richardson won gold in the 100 m at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, beating Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in a new championships record time of 10.65 seconds. On the penultimate day of the 2023 World Championships, she also won gold as part of Team USA in the women's 4 × 100m relay final with a championship record of 41.03 seconds. On June 22, 2024, Richardson defended her title as the US national champion in the 100-metre sprint event by winning the women's 100m final in 10.71 seconds (WL), qualifying for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, France, where she won the silver medal in the 100m and gold in the 4×100 relay.
