Sha'Carri Richardson vs. Gabby Thomas: Who is the faster American sprinter?

Sha'carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas are two of the fastest sprinters in the world. While the former has won gold at the World Championships, the latter secured a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

The two American sprinters are equally popular and have enjoyed similar success on the track and field circuits. But when the two are compared, Sha'Carri Richardson has clocked faster times than Gabby Thomas in the 100m sprints.

Richardson clocked 10.65s in the 100m sprint at the 2023 World Championships which also stands as a record in the event. The 24-year-old beat Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson who clocked 10.72s for the silver medal while Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce won the bronze in 10.77s. Gabby Thomas on the other hand has personal best timing of 11.0s clocked during the US Olympics Trials in 2021.

Richardson leads Thomas in the 60m dashes as well. The 24-year-old has a personal best of 7.20s in the discipline whereas the Olympic medalist is slightly slower at 7.21s.

However, when the two American stars are compared in 200m sprints, Gabby Thomas is faster. The 27-year-old ran 21.60s in the 200m final at the US Olympic trials in 2021 to become the then 2nd fastest woman of all time. Thomas is currently the 4th fastest woman of all time and 2nd fastest in America behind Florence Griffth-Joyner.

Richardson has a personal best of 21.92s in the 200m sprints but the world champion will be eyeing to better her PR this season with an impressive debut at Xiamen Diamond League.

Sha'Carri Richardson is happy with 200m season opener despite loss to Australia’s Torrie Lewis

Day 8 - World Athletics Championships Budapest 2023

Sha'Carri Richardson made the highly anticipated outdoor season debut at the Xiamen Diamond League on April 20. However, she had to face defeat at the hands of young Australian sprinter Torrie Lewis.

Lewis clocked a sensational 22.96s to win the high-profile contest while the 200m favorite missed marginally by 0.03 seconds. However, the American sprinting sensation is aware that it was only the first race of her season and thus is looking ahead to the next event in Shanghai.

"I feel really good about it being a season opener. It’s kind of late for me in this season to open up. I was a little nervous, but once I got on track, it felt like home, so I felt really good with this first performance.”, she expressed.