WATCH: Sha'Carri Richardson clocks a blistering time of 10.86s after slow start to qualify for 100m finals at U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials

Sha'Carri Richardson won the 100m semifinals after clocking a time of 10.86s at the 2024 US Olympic Track and Field Trials. Despite a slow start, she blazed through a contentious lineup of athletes and earned a place on the Trials finals roster.

Sha'Carri Richardson confirmed her entry in the 100m and 200m at the 2024 US Track and Field Trials. In the first round of women's 100m heats, she took center stage as the reigning 100m world champion. She was quick to dodge a nervous start and take a comfortable victory in the end.

But as she crossed the line, Sha'Carri Richardson knelt down to tighten the shoelaces of her right shoe, which unfastened in the final 20m of the race. The 24-year-old had another slow start in the semifinals but her phenomenal speed shone through as she flew past her rivals and finished ahead of them, clocking a time of 10.86s. Her effort qualified her for the 100m finals at the 2024 Olympic Trials.

Sha'Carri Richardson broke the 100m collegiate record at the 2019 NCAA Division 1 Championships, recording a lightning-fast time of 10.75s. In 2021, she lowered the time to 10.72s at the Miramar Invitational. She further lowered it and set a new personal best of 10.65s at the 2023 World Championships.

In the US Olympic Trials, she will look to earn a place on the Olympics roster and break Florence Griffith-Joyner's long-standing 100m world record time of 10.49s.

Sha'Carri Richardson - "I am enjoying the recognition of hard work"

2024 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Track & Field - Day 2

After failing a drug ban test, Sha'Carri Richardson was ruled out from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

She will make her debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics and has been adamant about her form since her double gold podium at the 2023 Worlds. After her first win at the Trials, Richardson was ecstatic beyond words and acknowledged that her hard work and self-belief came to fruition in her race.

"I am enjoying the recognition of hard work. [And] the support that comes with it. ... It's unbelievable. The world can see it; all the work that I've done on myself, for myself. And the world receives that. I'm appreciative. I will always show up for my fans," she said after the heats. (via Olympics.com)

Richardson will look to sweep the 100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay golds in Paris, which would fetch her a position behind Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah with the Olympic sprint treble.