I'm ready mentally, physically, and emotionally" - Sha’Carri Richardson after winning USATF 100m title, qualifies for next month’s World Championships

At the USA Track and Field Championships on Friday, July 7, Sha'Carri Richardson made a bold statement by winning the women's 100m in 10.82 seconds, despite getting off to a poor start.

Richardson indicated that her victory at the US Championships was just the first step in what has the potential to be an exciting new chapter in her career. The triumph sends the 23-year-old to the World Championships, which will be contested from August 19-27 in Budapest, Hungary. It would be her first World Championship.

Richardson was introduced to the crowd and promptly threw off her bright orange wig, displaying a lengthy display as the crowd showed their support for her. The braids were fashioned into the shape of a star just over her right ear, serving as a constant reminder to every one of her position in the sport.

Richardson finished the race and then did a victory lap while giving the crowd an intimidating glare. But she flashed a grin as she ascended into the seats to embrace her family and as she posed for pictures with the spectators who came to see her. Eventually, Richardson found her way to NBC's Lewis Johnson and told him:

"The thing I remember the most, I stood here with you (in 2021) … Now I’m standing here with you again, and I’m ready, mentally, physically, and emotionally. And I’m here to stay. I’m not back, I’m better."

Sha’Carri Richardson's 2020 anti-doping rule violation sanction

In 2021, track and field athlete Sha'Carri Richardson agreed to a one-month punishment for breaking the anti-doping rule by testing positive for an illegal substance.

A positive test for a banned substance, which Richardson, then 21 years old, said she took to cope with her mother's loss, dashed her hopes of winning gold in the 100m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The athlete said that she had broken anti-doping regulations and that she was "here to take what it is that I have to take from the choices that I decided to make." After hearing of her mother's passing, the athlete acknowledged consuming cannabis in Oregon.

"You can’t run from reality. It’s still going to be there no matter how long you choose to ignore it, no matter how long you choose to think it’s going to go away," she said.

"There exists no scientific consensus that the acute effects of marijuana enhance athletic performance. The rules are clear, but this is heartbreaking on many levels," said United States Anti-Doping Agency Chief Executive Travis Tygart.

"Hopefully, her acceptance of responsibility and apology will be an important example to us all that we can successfully overcome our regrettable decisions, despite the costly consequences of this one to her," he added.

Edited by Parag Jain