Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson Secures Olympic Spot 3 Years After Cannabis Controversy

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Two steps before she reached the finish line, Sha’Carri Richardson started pounding her chest.

She knew she had it won. Anyone who doesn’t see her as the sprinter to beat later this summer at the Paris Olympics should probably think again.

Richardson notched the latest stop on her “I’m Not Back, I’m Better” tour with a 10.71-second sprint in the 100 meters at U.S. track trials on Saturday that makes her the fastest woman in the world this year and officially earned her a trip to France where the women start racing Aug. 2.

The final marked the third time in this meet that Richardson did not get off to a stellar start. It also marked the third time in the meet she finished well in the clear.

She was .09 seconds ahead of training partner Melissa Jefferson, the 2022 U.S. champion. Another sprinter in coach Dennis Mitchell’s camp, Twanisha Terry, finished third and also earned a spot on the women’s 100-meter team.

“I feel honored,” Richardson said. “I feel every chapter I’ve been through in my life prepared me for this moment.”

A few seconds after her line-crossing celebration, she was down on a knee, clearly caught up in emotion.

“The emotion was just joy because of the hard work I put in, not just physically on the track, but mentally and emotionally to grow into the mature young lady I am today,” she said.

It has been quite a ride for the 24-year-old Texan. Three years ago, she won this race, too (in 10.86 seconds), only to see the victory stripped because of a positive marijuana test that laid bare everything from her own struggles with depression to an anti-doping rulebook that hadn’t changed with the times.

That’s when the hard work began. What emerged, Richardson said, was a better and more in-tune