Recently, Richardson won the 100-meter world championship title. This marked the first women’s 100-meter world championship by an American since 2017. Torie Bowie was the last woman to do it.
Richardson also had her personal best of 10.65 seconds. She surpassed Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s 10.67, which she accomplished last year. Fraser-Pryce, who was the defending champion, finished third in this race.
“I’m honored, I’m blessed, I had great competition, (which) pulled the best out of me, and I’m just honored to leave with a gold medal,” Richardson said after the race.
Another thing that made this win interesting, was that Richardson finished third in the semifinals. This stopped her from getting one of the two automatic spots to compete for the title. However, none of that mattered as she secured the championship.
Richardson had her share of ups and downs. Last year, Richardson failed to advance in the 100 meters at the U.S. championships last year. She also had a setback before that when she tested positive for THC. She was then hit with a 30-day suspension and the results from her Olympic trials were disqualified. This incident happened around the death of her mother.
Richardson used marijuana in Oregon (where it is legal), a week before her qualifying race for the 2020 Olympics. She said the stress from her mother’s death was the reason for it.
However, she was penalized for it and the suspension came into play. But now, those setbacks are a thing of the past.Richardson is on a new path. And for the 23-year-old star, who cites track and field legend Florence Griffith Joyner as her inspiration for things such as her style, she is on the path to more accolades.
As it stands, Richardson has her gold medal in the 100 m, gold in the 4×100 m relay and bronze in the 200m. Richardson’s story is about redemption and showing the world her talent. And right now, it looks like she will continue to do so.