World Championships 2023: Sha’Carri Richardson wins 100m gold

Sha’Carri Richardson had warned her 100m rivals all season – but the world’s greatest sprinters were helpless to prevent the crowning of a new star in Budapest.

The 23-year-old American has been claiming “I’m not back, I’m better” to all who doubted her.

As the disbelief at winning subsided – to be replaced by unadulterated joy – the gold medal that was soon around her neck proved that statement was right in emphatic fashion.

Stunning a high-class field from lane nine, Richardson produced a championship record performance of 10.65 seconds – the joint-fifth fastest time ever – to claim gold on her major championship debut.

The outpouring concoction of emotions spoke volumes. It is no secret that Richardson has had to overcome major setbacks at the beginning of a career full of promise.

Having grabbed the world’s attention with some scintillating times in April 2021, a one-month anti-doping suspension for marijuana use caused Richardson to miss her first Olympic Games in Tokyo, while she failed to qualify for last year’s World Championships in her home country.