Despite a stumble, Sha'Carri makes the 100-meter final at world championships
Sha’Carri Richardson squeezed into the 100-meter final at world championships, failing to get the top-two finish she needed in her semifinal to automatically qualify but earning one of the last two wild-card spots
United States' Sha'Carri Richardson and Britain's Daryll Neita finish a women's 100 meters semifinal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
TOKYO (AP) — Sha'Carri Richardson squeezed into the 100-meter final at track world championships Sunday, failing to get the top-two finish she needed in her semifinal to automatically qualify but earning one of the last two wild-card spots.
She stumbled on her fifth step out of the starting block and spent the rest of the race trying to catch the eventual winner and runner-up — Marie Josée Ta Lou-Smith and Sheicka Jackson.
Richardson didn't reel them in, then had to wait in the “hot seat” near the finish line for the final two heats to see if her time of 11 seconds flat would be one of the two fastest among the non-qualifiers.
She made it and reached the eight-woman final with a wild-card — the same way she qualified two years ago when she won the world title in Budapest. In the final that year, she ran out of Lane 9 and beat everyone.
This time, the task could be tougher. Richardson's 11.00 was her season best. That's .27 seconds slower than Melissa Jefferson-Wooden who posted the fastest semifinal time. Tina Clayton finished .17 seconds behind her.
Also making the final were Olympic champion Julien Alfred and Jamaica's five-time world champ, Shelly-Ann Fraser Pryce, who finished 1-2 in the second semifinal. Britain's Dina-Asher Smith ran 11.02 to earn the other wild-card spot.
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United States' Sha'Carri Richardson celebrates after qualifying for the women's 100 meters final as Britain's Amy Hunt reacts at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
United States' Sha'Carri Richardson, Britain's Daryll Neita and Jamaica's Shericka Jackson compete in a women's 100 meters semifinal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (5) runs in a women's 100 meters semifinal at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
