Sha’Carri Richardson’s opening race didn’t end up that well… and it wasn’t just the clock that told the story. On the very track that will host this year’s World Championships, the reigning 100m queen stepped into her 2025 season, and it felt more like a stumble than a stride. A sluggish 11.47 seconds. Fourth place. No podium. No fire. Just a long look at the scoreboard and a quiet walk back. Bree Rizzo of Australia? She took the win. Twanisha Terry? She edged past, too. A false start scare rattled the nerves, and when the green card dropped, Sha’Carri’s rhythm never came back. This wasn’t the Richardson we remembered. The results, like these, are likely to have perspectives that we missed. What are they?

Sha’Carri Richardson’s 2025 campaign is shaping up to be one of scrutiny and high expectations. After all, when you’re the reigning 100m world champion, eyes are bound to follow your every move—or stumble. And right now, many are wondering how she plans to navigate her path to the Worlds this season. A big part of that uncertainty? The bye.

Because Sha’Carri won the 100m title in 2023, she’s automatically qualified for the World Championships this year. She doesn’t have to run at the USA trials. Technically, she doesn’t have to show up until that one race that matters most.

That’s something track and field coach Rob addressed on his YouTube channel recently, speaking to the narrative head-on: “The prevailing narrative is this: Sha’Carri Richardson really only has to run in one meet this year — the World Championship. And because she won the 100m title in 2023, she technically doesn’t have to qualify at the USA trials. It just is what it is.” But is that a good thing? That’s where the debate heats up. “Getting a bye to Worlds — some people say it’s a blessing, but it could also be a curse?” Rob said, pointing to Fred Kerley’s 2023 season as a cautionary tale. “Look at Fred Kerley in 2023 because he had a buy to the Worlds and then did not perform well when he got there. Just saying.”

Kerley, the 2022 world champion in the 100m at Eugene, didn’t have to go through the trials either. And in Budapest? He didn’t even make the final. He went out in the semis.

That kind of drop-off matters. And as Rob put it, “I actually think that running at the trials or running at the, you know, USA Championship or whatever you want to call it is a pretty good preparation competitively for going out there at the world stage… makes sense because we have a whole bunch of fast runners for you to have to eliminate just to get out there.”

Sha’Carri Richardson had quite a happening year

Honestly, if you blinked, you might’ve missed just how electric 2024 was for Sha’Carri Richardson. From blasting out of the blocks at the Prefontaine Classic with a jaw-dropping 10.83 to lighting up Paris with not one but two Olympic medals, she was everywhere, and fast.

That 10.71 at the U.S. Trials? Still hard to wrap your head around. It wasn’t just the fastest time of the year; it was the kind of performance that made everyone stop and say,  Yeah, she’s got it.

Then came the Paris Olympics. First, the 100m silver, close to the top, yet filled with pride. Then she powered through the anchor leg of the 4x100m relay, bringing home gold for the U.S. It was pure adrenaline and grit. And while she’s best known for the 100, she didn’t leave the 200m alone either, walking away with a world bronze tucked in her kit.

Fast forward to 2025. While she has not raced that much in 2025, off the track? She’s been just as bold. No indoor season, but you’d catch her at the Met Gala, turning heads in a totally different spotlight. Now, with the Prefontaine Classic in July up next, fans are watching.