Sha’Carri Richardson is back on top, winning her third-career 100-meter title at Friday’s USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships — underlining her recent return to form.
The star sprinter finished in 10.77 seconds — slightly off her personal best time of 10.65 after a slow start. However, a last-second burst saw her reclaim her title.
“It feels phenomenal to be back in a better place: healthy mentally, physically, emotionally,” Richardson told NBC Sports. “Hard work pays off.”
Elsewhere, reigning 200-meter world champion Melissa Jefferson-Wooden easily took the 200-meter US crown with a season-best time of 21.69.
“I told myself, ‘Just let each phase of the race come to you,’” she said afterward. “‘Go out there, [and] when the gun goes off, let it rip.’”
Sha’Carri Richardson is back on track, as the US sprinter opened her 2026 season with a dominant 100-meter win at Sunday’s LA Grand Prix.
The 26-year-old powered out of the blocks and cruised to a first-place finish in 10.99 seconds. Then, fellow US stars Kayla White posted a season-best 11.08 and Tamari Davis clocked 11.11 to sweep the podium.
Reigning Olympic 100-meter hurdles champion Masai Russell shared the spotlight. The US NCAA record-holder won the women’s 100-meter hurdles with a meet-record 12.26.
Richardson earned 100-meter gold at the 2023 World Championships with a career-best 10.65. She subsequently took silver in the 100-meter and gold in the 4x100-meter relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"I feel good for it to be a season opener," Richardson said. "I definitely am just prepared to keep training, keep running and just finish out the season stronger than before."
Sha'Carri Richardson won Australia's Stawell Gift on Monday, charging from scratch to take the title in one of the event's most noteworthy finishes.
The US sprinter ran the 120-meter handicap race in 13.15 seconds, overcoming a nine-meter deficit to catch the field late and pull away for the win.
The result places Richardson among a small group of athletes to win the race from scratch — a rare feat in an event defined by staggered starts.
The decorated sprinter closed the gap decisively in the final stretch, making her move around the 90-meter mark before separating from the field. After a near miss in the semifinal earlier in the day, she adjusted her approach in the final.
"Just make sure I'm patient that first 10-meters like my coach today told me, and just executing the rest," Richardson told a local TV broadcast afterwards. "I think I realized I was going to win right past 90."
The Stawell Gift, first held in 1878, is one of track and field's most unique events, run on a grass surface with handicaps rather than a traditional straight start.
Richardson entered the race as one of the fastest women in the world, with Olympic and world championship medals in the 100-meter dash. At 26, she becomes just the third woman to win the Stawell Gift from scratch, while also earning $40,000 AUD in prize money — about $27,500 USD.
The victory capped a strong showing across the weekend. Richardson advanced out of the semifinals by just 0.007 seconds before delivering a cleaner, controlled finish in the final.
Now, the focus shifts to the sport's outdoor swing. Richardson's performance in Australia adds an early result as she builds toward major international competitions later this year.
Five days into the Olympic track and field competition, Team USA is well on their way to matching their Tokyo medal count of 26. With 11 medals — three of them gold — the US leads all nations in the sport, with Kenya siting in second place with three medals.
US women make Olympic history
Triple jumper Jasmine Moore kicked things off on Saturday, becoming the first US woman in history to win bronze in her event.
Then yesterday, Tokyo discus gold medalist Valarie Allman notched a 69.50-meter toss, becoming just the third woman to secure back-to-back golds in the event.
St. Lucia's Alfred takes fastest woman title
Though two US women made Saturday’s 100-meter podium — Sha’Carri Richardson won silver while Melissa Jefferson won bronze — it was Julien Alfred who raced into the history books.
The 23-year-old secured Saint Lucia’s first-ever Olympic medal with her gold medal win, finishing 0.15 seconds ahead of Richardson — the event's largest margin of victory since 2008.
Missing from this year’s 100-meter race was 2008 gold medalist and Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who failed to run in her qualifying semifinal days after fellow Jamaican and 100-meter favorite Shericka Jackson bowed out of the event.
And with three of the eight-runner lineup repping Team USA, including gold medal–favorite and world No. 2 Gabby Thomas, Tuesday's race to watch is the 200-meter final, which takes off at 3:40 PM ET.
Where to watch Team USA compete in Olympic track and field events
Track and field events will continue through August 11th, with live coverage across NBC networks.
Olympic track and field takes flight today, with a talented Team USA looking to ascend the podium once again.
From early this morning until a few hours before the Closing Ceremony, track and field stars will compete across 48 events in a quest for Olympic glory.
USA track and field shoots for Olympic podium return
In 2021, Team USA led all nations with a collective 26 medals, with athletes competing in women’s events — including Katie Moon (pole vault), Valarie Allman (discus), and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (400-meter hurdles) — responsible for five of the team’s seven golds.
Since then, the squad has only improved, earning 33 and 29 medals at the last two World Athletics Championships respectively, including 12 golds in Budapest last summer.
New rule offers track and field athletes an Olympic redo
For the first time in Olympic history, the 2024 Games will feature a repechage round in the 200-meter through 1,500-meter races, offering athletes who underperformed in heats a second shot at advancing.
In previous Olympics, those spots went to athletes who failed to qualify in their heats but had the fastest overall non-advancing times.
"It’s kind of like a make-up quiz," said US Trials 100-meter hurdles champ Masai Russell. "If it didn’t go right the first time, you could get it right the second time. That’s really good because I feel like with the hurdles especially, anything can happen."
Team USA women's track and field athletes to watch
To call Team USA stacked would be an understatement. These are just a handful of the 61 US women’s sports superstars expected to set the standard in Paris.
Sha’Carri Richardson: Making her highly anticipated Olympic debut after a 2021 suspension, 2024’s fastest woman is favored to become Team USA’s first women’s 100-meter gold medalist since 1996 — and with Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson dropping that race, it’s Richardson’s to lose.
Gabby Thomas: Tokyo bronze medalist Thomas will face back-to-back world champion Jackson in the 200-meter, with both runners chasing legend Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 1988 world record.
Katie Moon: Tokyo gold medalist Moon will defend her pole vaulting title at her second Olympics in Paris, going up against stiff competition in the form of fellow Olympic gold medalist, Greece’s Aikaterini Stefanidi.
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone: The 400-meter hurdles star's biggest competition is herself: McLaughlin-Levrone has lowered her own world record five times and is poised to become the event’s first-ever two-time Olympic champ.
Chase Jackson: The world’s top-ranked women's shot putter, Jackson will make her Olympic debut in Paris after winning gold at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships.
The 2024 US Olympic Track & Field Trials returned to action on Thursday, with track stars Sha’Carri Richardson and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone both in the mix.
Richardson is competing in the 200-meter after winning the 100-meter and securing her spot on the Olympic team. McLaughlin-Levron, meanwhile, is competing in the 400-meter hurdles — an event in which she currently holds the world record.
McLaughlin-Levron won Thursday's heat handily, and will now advance to Saturday's semifinal. Her time of 53.07 bested Anna Cockrell's second-fastest time by 1.64 seconds.
"[That] felt good," she told NBC after the win. "I'm honestly excited to be out here and shake off the nerves. My stride pattern felt good. Just getting the feel of the rounds again; I really feel good."
Richardson also made light work of Thursday's heats, winning the 200-meter hurdles with a time of 21.99 — the second-fastest recorded this year — and advancing with ease to the semifinals.
"I’m really just focusing in on executing the curve to make the straightaway much, much easier," she told reporters. "Any time I touch the track it's an opportunity for me to work on my best self."
Elsewhere, discus thrower Valarie Allman confirmed that she too would defend her Tokyo medal in Paris this summer, winning her event on Thursday by more than eight meters.
Sha’Carri Richardson has punched her ticket to the Paris Olympics after finishing first in 100-meter final at the US Olympic Track & Field Trials over the weekend.
Her time — 10.71 — sets a record as the fastest time in the world this year. After finishing, she dropped to one knee and bent her head to savor the moment.
"Definitely still confidence, still my exciting normal self, but more so overwhelmed with just emotions of joy," Richardson said of her post-race celebration. "I know that the hard work I've put into, not just physically on the track but as well as mentally and emotionally to grow into the mature young lady that I am today and that I'm going to grow into was a full-fledged surreal moment for me to actually embrace and be able to show to the world and on the track."
It was a statement-making turn in a comeback story that saw Richardson disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics due to testing positive for THC after that year's Olympic Trials.
"Everything I've been through is everything I have been through to be in this moment right now," Richardson said. "There's nothing I've been through that hasn't designed me to sit right here in front of you to answer this question."
Now, Richardson is expected to bring home some hardware from Paris, having grown into one of the greatest sprinters in the world. She won the 100-meter and 4x100-meter relay events at the World Championships last summer. And before this year's Olympic Trials conclude, she’ll look to also qualify for the 200-meter event.
"In the past three years, I've grown a better understanding of myself, a deeper respect and appreciation for my gift that I have in the sport, as well as my responsibility to the people that believe in and support me," Richardson said. "I feel like all of those components have helped me grow and will continue to help me grow into the young lady that I have been divined and by God been blessed to be."
The US Olympic Track & Field Trials begin on June 21st, kicking off a 10-day quest to determine who will represent the US in Paris this summer.
The crucial meet will take place in Eugene, Oregon, where the top three finishers in each event will punch their ticket to the 2024 Olympics. As with this past week's US Swimming Trials, even the most decorated athletes must work to earn their spot — and one bad performance could undermine four years of preparation.
Reigning 100-meter World Champion Sha'Carri Richardson headlines this year's field, as the 24-year-old looks to qualify for her second Olympic Games and compete in her first. Richardson is a world champion in both the 100-meter and 200-meter sprint, but missed the Tokyo Olympics due to testing positive for THC shortly after the last US Olympic Trials.
Other standouts include 400-meter Olympic gold medal-winning hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, who's currently the most decorated athlete in the active women's US Track & Field pool. McLaughlin-Levrone qualified to run in the 200-meter and 400-meter flat races alongside the 400-meter hurdles at the Olympic Trials, but opted to focus solely on her signature event.
800-meter specialist Athing Mu will also be a huge draw this week, as the Olympic gold medalist looks to shake off a lingering hamstring injury while pursuing her second Summer Games. Gold medal-winning pole vaulter Katie Moon will also attempt to qualify for her second-straight Olympic Games.
Ole Miss star McKenzie Long could be Richardson's greatest competition in the 100-meter and 200-meter events, as well as Richardson's Worlds teammate Gabby Thomas in the 200-meter. In field events, watch for Oregon senior Jaida Ross going head-to-head with reigning world champion Chase Jackson in the shot put, as both push for their first Olympic team berth.
Regardless of why you tune in, the US Olympic Trials are a perpetually thrilling and sometimes brutal qualification process. If you're able to make your way to the head of the pack, a shot at Olympic glory might just be waiting at the finish line.
Fans can catch live coverage throughout the Trials via NBC, USA, and Peacock.
A number of women’s sports stars have made this year’s Forbes “30 Under 30” list, including Sophia Smith and Angel Reese.
Forbes features 30 people who are changing the game in sports, including Smith, who helped lead the U.S. women’s national team in the 2023 World Cup. Despite a disappointing finish at the tournament, the 23-year-old forward represents the future of the national team, and she also won the NWSL Golden Boot with 11 goals for the Portland Thorns.
Reese led the LSU basketball team to its first national title in April 2023. The Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 Final Four, the 21-year-old’s national profile skyrocketed, and she has endorsement deals with Reebok, Coach and more. While Reese is off to a rocky start to the new season, including an unexplained four-game absence, she remains among the biggest stars in the college game.
Other honorees from the world of women’s sports include:
- Napheesa Collier, 27, Minnesota Lynx forward
- Jessica Pegula, 29, tennis player
- Kate Douglass, 22, Team USA swimmer
- Sha’Carri Richardson, Team USA sprinter
- Olivia Dunne, 21, LSU gymnast
- Diana Flores, 26, flag football quarterback
- Maddie Musselman, 25, Team USA water polo player
Several more names included on the list come from the business side of women’s sports, including Robyn Brown, who is the senior manager of brand and content strategy for the Phoenix Mercury, and Natalie White, who founded women’s basketball shoe brand Moolah Kicks.
When it comes to Halloween, A’ja Wilson always aces the assignment.
The 2023 WNBA Finals MVP dressed as all five characters from “Codename: Kids Next Door,” an animated series that ran on Cartoon Network from 2002 to 2006. She pulled off a similarly impressive costume in 2022, when she dressed as all five characters from “Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!”
And she was far from the only name from women’s sports to get in on the Halloween action. Here are some of the standout costumes from the holiday.
A’ja Wilson, Las Vegas Aces
Wilson doesn’t skimp on the details for “Operation: H.A.L.L.O.W.E.E.N.” Just take a look at her Instagram gallery, which shows the costumed Aces star next to each character.
Kerry Washington, actress
The 46-year-old actress, best known for her role as Olivia Pope in “Scandal,” dressed as American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson — or in this case, Sha’Kerry. Richardson won the world title in the 100-meter dash in August.
San Diego Wave
The No. 1 seed in the NWSL playoffs, the Wave are preparing for Sunday’s semifinal against OL Reign. But that didn’t stop them from celebrating Halloween.
Shae Yanez stole the show, dressing up as head coach Casey Stoney, cooler and all. Other costumes included Meggie Dougherty Howard as Wednesday Addams, and Madison Pogarch and Christen Westphal combining for a tribute to painter Bob Ross.
Morgan Weaver, Portland Thorns
The 26-year-old forward showed up for training dressed as Harry Potter — and assistant coach Robert Gale stepped in as Draco Malfoy. No. 2 seed Portland is preparing to host Gotham FC in the NWSL semifinals.
Happy Halloween from the iconic duo of Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy 😭🪄@morganvweaver x @galey77 pic.twitter.com/eCE1NwMcc7
— x - Portland Thorns FC (@ThornsFC) October 31, 2023
Ghosts of Halloween costumes past
In addition to the new crop of costumes, we brought back some of the best from past years, including Sam Kerr and Kristie Mewis, Lynn Williams, Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux and more.