Sha’Carri Richardson Faces Big Responsibility for USA as Melissa Jefferson Gives Crucial Update

“2025 owes me nothing but I am thankful for what this year has revealed and allowing the tone to be set for the rest of my life. I am Sha’Carri Richardson & there is so much more to come, just wait and see ⏳! You have to dig through dirt to get to the treasure,” wrote Richardson from Japan’s National Stadium, reflecting on a season filled with setbacks. But these words, ‘so much more to come, just wait and see‘, these weren’t some mere claims, there were hopes that after losing her 100m gold, the journey in World Championships was not yet over for her. There is still hope for the 4x100m relay for the athlete who won the gold medal in 4×100 back in Paris Olympics. But are these hopes fruitful?

Melissa Jefferson-Wooden sat down with Shannon Sharpe and Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson on the latest episode of Nightcap. In the video aired on September 17th, the 100m World Champion was asked about the relay team that is going to be there in the 4x100m at the World Championship. “I’m sure you and Sha’Carri because you guys made the finals,” Sharpe shot a guess, and it did hit the target. “Yeah. So, it’s pretty, I would say it’s pretty much set in stone. I think what’s going to end up happening is that, this is just as of today, obviously, I know that I will be leading it off, and then, my train basically, I’ll be on it’ll be my training partners,” The fastest women of 2025 said. Sha’Carri is coming to the 4x100m.

Jefferson-Wooden added, “So me to Tee Tee to Kayla White to Sha’Carri is the last I’ve heard of last I’ve heard of anything yet.” Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha “TeeTee” Terry, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Kayla White all train under the same coach. Yup, Dennis Mitchell at Star Athletics in Florida is the man behind the 2023 World Champion and the 2025 World Champion as well. “This is like unofficial,” Melissa added. Keeping that in mind,  she is going to start for the US team in the 4x100m, and TeeTee is going to be the Backstretch Runner who will then pass on the baton to Kayla White at the Curve. Richardson is the one who would be running the Anchor leg, a big responsibility.

Everything will be coming down on her if the team is trailing; it will be her who has to accelerate and make sure the lead is back. If the team had been in the lead, it would be Sha’Carri who would have to make sure that it is maintained. On top of that, Richardson will only have one baton exchange, which is receiving it. And that exchange has to be smooth, speed into the zone, clean receipt, no hesitation. The good part? She has done this before. Almost the whole team has done this before.

In the Paris Olympics, Jefferson, Terry, Gabby Thomas, and Richardson took to the track in the women’s 4x100m.  The 2023 World Champion was once again the anchor in this race, and she made sure the gold medal came to the American team in 41.78 seconds. Jefferson, the team’s lead-off, ran her split in 11.46, while  Twanisha Terry followed in 9.98s. Thomas covered the curve in 10.25, and Richardson came home in 10.09. But they have competition ahead of them.

Jamaica and Britain are threats, but Sha’Carri Richardson and Co. have an advantage

Though the federations have announced relay squads (relay pools) for Tokyo 2025, most countries have not published a fixed running order. Though the major threat to the US team will be Jamaica and Britain. There is no doubt that both of these countries are set to bring strong women’s 4x100m teams to the World Championships. Jamaica will likely lead with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, hand to Gabrielle Matthews on the back straight, then Shericka Jackson. They might trust Tina Clayton on the anchor, given her 10.76 in the 100m final.

Britain could open with Amy Hunt, followed by Dina Asher-Smith, then Imani-Lara Lansiquot or Bianca Williams on the bend, with Daryll Neita closing. The USA team will have to be careful. Jamaica has unmatched raw speed, with Shericka Jackson (10.65), Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.60), and Tina Clayton (10.76) giving them multiple sub-10.8 options, plus a history of Olympic and World golds. Great Britain has closed the gap through precision; their 41.85s silver in Paris 2024 was just 0.07 behind the U.S., and they’ve medaled at every major championship since 2022. But the USA has an advantage.

Earlier this month, Gabby Thomas talked about what is wrong with relays. She said, “No, like people live all around the country and they have different training groups and we come together for this one meet and try to make a relay happen…We only get a couple of opportunities each year to practice together, right? We can train together at Olympic training camp or World Championships training camp, which is right before the meet.” But since all four members of the US team are trained by the same coach, they have the advantage here. And on top of that, this is almost the same team that won the gold in Paris. Can Sha’Carri Richardson and Co. repeat that?