Sha’Carri Richardson had created some chaos in the track and field world. She initially made headlines for announcing she wouldn’t compete in the 100m and 200m at the USATF Championships. However, she later updated officials, stating she would race in the 200m heats. Richardson, the reigning 100m champion, already had a bye to Tokyo for that event, having run a season-best 11.07s in the preliminary round. But her final decision to race in the 200m was good news for those who hoped to see her get the double. Well, this hope died today, and how…

The 2023 100m World Champion lined up in the second heat of the 200m at the USATF Championships today, and the result is not what the fans expected. Starting from lane 7, she went up against the likes of Madison Whyte, McKenzie Long, etc. When the bullet went off, the commentator did point out that Sha’carri was quick out of the blocks, a problem she had been trying to counter, but the rest of the race did not sit well.

From the very beginning, it looked like she would not get the 1st position as long made a long distance from her, and even when she hit the curve, the second seemed out of sight too. But for the third spot on the podium, she fought. Madison Whyte and Sha’Carri Richardson locked in an intense battle on the field for that third spot, and only a person with a bird’s-eye view could have told who was first across the finish line. If that person was a Richardson fan, well, bad news. Sha’Carri finished fourth with a time of 22.56 seconds. Whyte (22.55) was third, while McKenzie Long (22.12) and Deajah Stevens (22.37) qualified for the finals.

The 100 Olympic silver medalist did not even qualify from her time, as it ranked 9th among all the competitors across all three heats. What this means is that Sha’Carri Richardson has failed to secure a podium finish in the 200m since the finals of the 2023 Budapest championships in any big event like the World Championships or Olympics or even the trials for them. In the 200m finals of the 2023 World Championships, she had clocked a time of 21.92 seconds to finish third behind Gabby Thomas (21.81s) and Shericka Jackson (21.41s).

In the U.S. Olympic Team Trials last year, she failed to win the gold, recording a time of 22.16s for a fourth place behind Gabby Thomas (21.81s), Brittany Brown (21.90s), and McKenzie Long (21.91s). Sha’Carri Richardson in 2023 was great. 2024 was good- an individual Olympic silver there, though a gold would have made it the greatest. And in 2025, it doesn’t feel like Sha’Carri.

Sha’Carri Richardson might be dipping since 2023

Sha’Carri Richardson‘s 2023 season might have started with a fourth-place finish at the Prefontaine Classic, but this is also the year which she made an undefeated streak of 9 in the 100 meters. Not only that, she dominated the world championships as well, running 10.65s to claim the 100 m title in Budapest, setting a championship record and cementing herself as the fastest woman that year. Thanks to that title, she could afford the exit from the 100m at the USATF Championships this year. That 10.65 still stands as the fifth fastest time on the all-time list of women’s 100m.

2024 also saw a stale start as she opened her season at the Brussels Diamond League, finishing 8th. This year also saw her create a 100m streak, but it was only for four meets. She carried the 2023 momentum into the U.S. Trials in June 2024, topping the world lists with a 10.71s performance, but at the Paris Olympics, she clocked 10.87s for silver, behind Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred (10.72s), a 0.15-second margin representing the largest win in an Olympic women’s 100 m final since 2008. Then comes 2025.

Sha’Carri Richardson’s 2025 season began in Tokyo, where she stepped onto the track with anticipation but finished 4th in the 100 m, clocking 11.47s, far from her best. Next came the Prefontaine Classic, where she crossed the line 9th, and her 11.19s told more than just time. At the US Championships, a flicker of promise appeared, 11.07s in the opening heat. But just as questions turned to hope, she withdrew before the semis. Then the loss in 200m. A champion searching for rhythm, her season never quite found its sprint. Battling her personal life turmoil, 2025 has not been kind justifiable of her name. What are your thoughts?