2025 is almost over, and let’s be real, it just wasn’t Sha’Carri Richardson’s year. We all kept rooting for her, thinking maybe 2026 would be the big comeback, but it feels like bad luck showed up before the new year even started. Hard to believe this is the same Sha’Carri once called the “Flo-Jo of our time,” the one who clocked that insane 10.65. But this season, she just couldn’t break the 10-second barrier or find that fire again. Everyone was waiting for her bounce-back story, and instead, it feels like she’s already facing another rough start.

So, here’s the big news: Citius Mag just dropped the list of sprinters already qualified for the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championships, and guess what? In the women’s 100 m and 200 m lineup, you’ll see Julien Alfred and Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, but not Sha’Carri Richardson. Yep, you read that right. For the event set for September 11-13, 2026, Sha’Carri isn’t on the list. Shocking, right? Especially for someone we all expected to be a lock-in because she was the winner of the 100 m world title in 2023. Now, how did the others get through?

Simple, they earned it.  As we know, at the 2024 Paris Olympics, Julien Alfred won gold in the 100 m with 10.72 s, while Sha’Carri Richardson took silver at 10.87 s. Then in Tokyo 2025, Melissa Jefferson-Wooden snatched the world title with a championship record of 10.61 s. Sha’Carri finished fifth with her season-best 10.94 s, respectable, but not enough to guarantee a spot. But how does it depend on it?

According to World Athletics, the qualification routes for the 2026 Ultimate Championships include: being an Olympic champion (Paris 2024), a World champion (Tokyo 2025), and a Diamond League Final winner (Brussels 2026). Sha’Carri isn’t eligible just yet because she didn’t fulfill the first two requirements. Even though it will not be as easy as it is among Olympic and world champions, Sha’Carri Richardson still has a possibility to become a member of the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championships.

Sha’Carri Richardson still has a path to the 2026 World Championships

The path that Sha’Carri Richardson is taking to the 2026 World Athletics Ultimate Championships is not entirely unambiguous, but it is not quite straightforward, either. But there are still a few ways to qualify it. So, as we know, World Athletics will be monitoring every sprint, every finish, and every second between September 2025 and September 2026. And Sha’Carri can still earn her spot if she continues to be a consistent competitor and places in the top 100 or 200-meter sprinters in the world. The door is still open, so she simply needs to run through it.

Additionally, there is the wildcard rule, which states that World Athletics may send one “exceptional invitation” per event, which could theoretically go to Sha’Carri. Official entries are announced in early September following the Diamond League Final in Brussels, and those final calls take place by August 17, 2026. In short, every race from here on out matters. One big win, one standout time, and she’s right back in the mix. And honestly, if anyone knows how to make a comeback, it’s her.

Her turning point was the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, where she won gold in the 100 meters with a record-breaking time of 10.65 seconds, showing her true self to the world. Now that the 2026 Championships have a substantial $150,000 prize for gold, athletes like Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, Gabby Thomas, and Julien Alfred have already qualified. Sha’Carri is unlikely to be quite done with this story yet.