It happened again and in a manner all too familiar. Under the bright lights of Eugene and before a packed house at Hayward Field, the stage was set for Sha’Carri Richardson to reclaim ground she lost last summer. But once more, the opening seconds told the story. The Prefontaine Classic women’s 100 meters was meant to showcase momentum. Instead, it spotlighted repetition. In a race defined by headwinds and high stakes, it was Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who seized control, not just of the race but of the narrative that many thought belonged to Richardson.

This wasn’t supposed to echo Paris, but it did. At the Olympic final, Richardson’s silver medal finish was attributed by her own admission to a lackluster start, an element that left her chasing rather than leading. And now, with Julien Alfred lining up beside her again, history didn’t just repeat. It insisted. Alfred, the Olympic champion from Saint Lucia, ran 10.77. Jefferson-Wooden outdid her with a 10.75 in a stiff -1.5 headwind. And Richardson, despite all eyes, finished ninth in 11.19. The numbers weren’t kind, but the body language said more. This was not about one bad day. It was about a pattern returning to the surface.

“I always see that as an improvement,” Richardson admitted, reflecting on the phase of her race that continues to betray her. “When it comes to working on my start… as well as when it comes to um mentally getting more prepared for these moments despite good race, bad race, but being mentally in tune every single time I run down the track.” Her words mirrored those from last year’s Olympic fallout, nearly verbatim. The issue she identified in Paris remains unresolved. She didn’t lose to Alfred once. She’s lost to the same problem twice.

There is no shortage of belief. “If you don’t believe in yourself first, you can’t expect anybody else to believe in you,” she said. Sha’Carri added, “So, I believe in the fact that no matter what I do, when I am 100%, there’s literally nothing that can stop me but me.” Her confidence is unwavering, but the gap between conviction and execution grows more visible with each outing.

With the U.S. trials approaching, she emphasized her plan. Richardson stated, “Working on speed, endurance… I’m going to be at my fullest and more confident in not executing just a healthy race, but a speedy race, too.” The words were steady. The crowd was loud. But the clock, and the problem it revealed, spoke louder. 

How Sha’Carri Richardson faltered before as well…

Sha’Carri Richardson’s early-season performances have raised eyebrows for reasons few anticipated. Mere weeks before she is expected to defend her world title, the Olympic silver medallist placed fourth at the Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, clocking a modest 11.47 seconds in the women’s 100 meters. It was not simply the finishing position that startled observers, but the nature of the run itself, slow from the gun, uncertain throughout, and notably absent from the sharpness she once made routine.

The race was won by Australia’s Bree Rizzo, who recorded 11.38 seconds and described the experience as “pretty exciting for an Australian athlete,” particularly given the names she outran. Twanisha Terry of the United States, fifth in last year’s Olympic final, secured second in 11.42, while Canada’s Sade McCreath edged Richardson by a hundredth of a second. Richardson, who ran with visible strapping on her lower right leg, showed no signs of acceleration and remained adrift throughout. The result is her lowest finish in a final this year, though one later performance, ninth at the Prefontaine Classic, would soon eclipse even this.

Rizzo, asked about her competition, said, “It’s a season-opener for those athletes and they will be very, very strong come the world championships,” a view perhaps intended more as deference than prediction. Yet it leaves open the question of where Richardson stands in the broader picture. Two consecutive subpar outings, within four months of the global championships in Tokyo, have reshaped the conversation around her preparedness. If there is a surge to come, it has not yet stirred.