“Shericka Jackson with a very nice start. Sha’Carri Richardson has some work to do, needs to be in the top three.” And Richardson delivered. The 100m world champion showed signs of her old self in the 100m heat of the Tokyo World Championships on Day 1. Despite Shericka Jakson taking an early lead into the race, Richardson accelerated into the final few meters of the race and took the win in 11.03 seconds, one hundredth of a second ahead of Jackson and the new season best for the athlete.  But did that signal the end of her troubles?

Not quite. Sha’Carri Richardson was slow. Not just compared to her standard, but slower than other athletes as well. Julien Alfred recorded 10.93s, Darryl Neitaran a season best of 10.94s. Melissa Jefferson-Wooden clocked 10.99s. Even Tina Clayton was faster by two hundredths of a second, clocking 11.01s. In the semifinals on Day 2, things went more south for her as she almost hit the ground.

It started with a false start in the semifinal heat 1. When the gun went off, Sha’Carri twitched, and so did Daryll Neita in the lane next to her. This created uncertainty about whether things would go wrong right before starting. But, fortunately, Sha’Carri was given the green card. But this wasn’t the end of her troubles. When the race re-started, Sha’Carri’s pace was dictated by an early stumble, just like at the U.S. Olympic Trials last year. As she sprinted out of lane six, the commentator announced, “They get away cleanly this time, but Richardson really stumbled out of the blocks.”

However, Sha’Carri regained her stride after the stumble and pushed through in the second half of the race. By then, Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith cleared ahead of the pack with 10.94s, followed by Shericka Jackson in 10.97s. Yet, Sha’Carri Richardson made it third in 11.00, with a new season’s best. But with only the top 2 finishers qualifying for the final from every heat, this kept a worried Sha’Carri waiting on the sidelines for a non-automatic qualification throught the rest of the two semi final rounds. Fortunately, things worked out. After all the semifinal heats, Richardson had the 7th fastest time, making her way into the final.

Her training partner, Melissa Jefferson-wooden, was dominating the ranks with 10.73, followed by Julien Alfred in 10.90. The third fastest woman of the semifinals was Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith in 10.94s. The 200m world champion was the fourth one with her sub-11, and below her was her compatriot, enjoying her final run, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, clocking the same time as Sha’Carri below her. Though this has created an interesting scenario for Richardson.

2023 recreated for Sha’Carri Richardson

In a bizarre twist, Sha’Carri faced in Tokyo something that had exactly happened to her in Budapest, too. In the 2023 World Championships, Sha’Carri Richardson moved smoothly through the opening round of the women’s 100 m, winning her heat in 10.92 seconds. The semifinal stage, though, brought far fiercer competition. She ran a sharp 10.84 seconds but crossed the line third behind Shericka Jackson and Marie-Josée Ta Lou, who both clocked 10.79 seconds to secure the automatic qualifying spots.

With only the top two guaranteed a place in the final, Richardson had no choice but to wait and see if her time would be enough to advance as one of the fastest non-automatic qualifiers. It was her 10.84 that earned her a spot in the final, though it placed her in the far outside lane 9, traditionally seen as a disadvantage. And on Sunday, at the Tokyo Worlds, the exact same thing happened. Coincidentally, it were the same runners, Shericka and Ta Lou-Smith who once again pushed Richardson into third place in the semis.

However, one thing that couldn’t be replicated from Budapest was her win. In the 100m finals in Budapest, Sha’Carri Richardson clocked a career best and her only sub-10.70 in the 100m to this date, to win the 100m world title in a historic 10.65 seconds, sealing her position as the fifth fastest woman on the planet. Alas, this year, she finished a distant fifth and lost it all!