EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Sha'Kary Richardson stumbled off the starting block and raced with her right shoelace untied, but still won the 100-meter heat in 10.88 seconds at the USA Track and Field Trials on Friday, clinching a spot in the Olympics.
The 24-year-old sprinter, whose trial victory three years ago was cancelled after testing positive for marijuana, stumbled early in the race and briefly dropped to last place, but he quickly overcame that mistake to not only beat the others but also finish in the best time of the night's opening four races.
She will compete in the semifinals on Saturday where she will have a shot at winning the title if she finishes in the top two. The top three finishers in the final will advance to the Paris Olympics, where Richardson will be looking to add to her world championship title from last year.
“In this moment, I didn't have the start I'd trained for at all,” she said in an interview with NBC after the race, “but I'm not panicking yet. I know I have to be patient and keep racing no matter what happens.”
The race was not a masterpiece, but it didn't need to be: despite her stumble, she was only 0.02 seconds off the time she used to win the trials three years earlier on the same track.
“So now we're ready to go,” she said. “We just need to put it all together.”
Things only got worse when, not long after his 2021 win, he tested positive for marijuana and then revealed he'd been battling depression following the recent death of his mother and other issues.
Since then, she's been on a lengthy comeback, but she sees it differently — “I'm not back, I'm just better” — and in almost every respect, especially the ones the public can put on the track, she really is back.
She comes into the trials as the reigning world champion, having also won the Prefontaine Classic at this same track last month, making her the favorite to win in an all-Jamaican Olympic field.
When asked how she enjoys her fortunes rising, she replied, “I enjoy the recognition of my hard work and the support that comes with it.”
“I'm grateful that the world can see and receive so much of the work that I've put into myself, and I'll continue to do that for my fans,” she said.
___
AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
