By Jeff Eisenberg Senior writer
(Source Y!sports):
Ever since she dominated her signature race at the 2021 U.S. Olympic trials, only to have her breakthrough victory wiped out because of a positive marijuana test, Sha’Carri Richardson had worked toward this moment.
America’s best-known sprinting star knelt in the starting blocks, a look of determination etched across her face. The second chance that she had craved for three long years was finally here. Redemption was just a single 100-meter sprint away.
When the starter’s pistol fired, Richardson seized the moment and secured her spot at next month’s Paris Olympics. She blew past the rest of the women’s 100 meters field at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials, easing across the finish line in first place in a world-leading 10.71 seconds.
Joining Richardson in a bear hug after she crossed the finish line were two of her training partners under coach Dennis Mitchell. Melissa Jefferson clinched her place in Paris by taking second place in 10.80 seconds, as did Twanisha Terry, who held on for third in 10.89.
“Every chapter I’ve been through in my life was designed to prepare me for this moment,” Richardson told NBC’s Lewis Johnson. “I cannot wait to go to Paris and represent.”
In the first two rounds of women’s 100 qualifying, Richardson didn’t come close to executing her start how she wanted. She wobbled out of the blocks with her right shoe untied on Friday, but still rallied from last place to win her preliminary heat in 10.88 seconds. Her semifinal start was also sluggish, but she reeled in the rest of the field again to win in 10.86 seconds.
“That tells me I’m prepared,” she told NBC in a post-race interview. “I just need to put it all together.”
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