US sprint star Richardson wins her first 100m of season

14 June 2026 22:07| © AFP
Share
article image
Sha'Carri Richardson © Getty Images

Former world champion Sha'Carri Richardson won her first 100m of the season on Sunday, clocking 10.99sec at the Los Angeles Grand Prix.

With a slight headwind of -0.2m/sec, Richardson out-distanced training partner Kayla White (11.08) and Tamari Davis (11.11) and said it "felt good" for a first outing at the distance.

"I definitely am just prepared to keep training, keep running and just finish out the season stronger than before and just work on the things that are my weaknesses," said Richardson, who was coming off back-to-back fourth-place 200m finishes in Diamond League meetings in China.

Advertisement

The meet at the University of Southern California's Allyson Felix Field had Richardson and others thinking about the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

"Even though it's a ways away, it's still right around the corner," Richardson said. "Every race, every practice it's still in the back of our minds that is what we're truly preparing for.

"Every single time I get on the track, I'm thinking about LA," added Richardson, who won the 100m world title in 2023 but settled for silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

She had not raced a 100m since a fifth-place finish at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo.

American Kenny Bednarek, who has two Diamond League 200m victories this season, won the men's 100m in a quick 9.72sec, aided by a tailwind of 2.4m/sec – above the allowable limit of 2.0.

US veteran Christian Coleman was second in 9.84 and Ghana's Abdul-Rasheed Saminu third in 9.88 as Botswana's 2024 Olympic 200m gold medallist Letsile Tebogo placed fifth in 9.95.

Olympic gold medallist Masai Russell won the women's 100m hurdles in 12.26sec, leading a US podium sweep that saw Paris Olympic long jump gold medallist Tara Davis-Woodhall finish second in 12.47.

Russell now has the top three times of the season, including a blistering 12.14 in Xiamen last month.

Advertisement