With the stakes too high in the women’s 100m at the World Championships, Sha’Carri Richardson’s redemption time was denied on Sunday. After a difficult season, Richardson was eyeing a successful run, but what followed was heartbreak. In the women’s 100m finals, her compatriot Jefferson-Wooden clocked 10.61s (finishing first), breaking Richardson’s 10.65s record. And even though she finished 5th with 10.94s on the clock, a heartbroken Sha’Carri is ready to give up just yet.

“2025 owes me nothing but I am thankful for what this year has revealed and allowing the tone to be set for the rest of my life. I am Sha’Carri Richardson & there is so much more to come, just wait and see ⏳!” captioned Richardson as she posted her pictures from the Japan National Stadium. Notably, it has been a bad year for the Olympian, and she knows it all too well.

Richardson also quoted in the caption, “You have to dig through dirt to get to the treasure.” After the 100m heat in the Worlds, she said, “I know that this year is not what I ideally saw as being my golden year. But when I think of ‘golden’ now, I think of buried treasure, and sometimes you’ve got to dig through the dirt to get to the gold.” And even though she did not have a podium finish, Richardson was one of the fastest losers on the track, which means she will still walk home with a cash prize, thanks to a grand reward scheme introduced by World Athletics.

According to Pulse Sports, gold medalists at Tokyo World Championships are taking home as much as $70,000, while silver and bronze medalists $35,000 and $22,000, respectively. And as for the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth place, the rewards are $16,000, $11,000, $7,000, $6,000, and $5,000, respectively.

As for Sha’Carri’s overall run at the Tokyo World Championships, she had a false start and stumbled in the semifinals of the World Championships. Despite the massive setback, the 25-year-old received a green card and finished 3rd behind Marie Josee Ta Lou-Smith and Shericka Jackson.

Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith won the semis in 10.94s, followed by Shericka Jackson in 10.97s. Richardson was 3rd with 11.00s, a new season best, but she also had to wait for qualification. Then, in the finals, she finished 5th (10.94s), but the positives from here are that she finally clocked her first sub-11 of the season, and her performance kept getting better in the last three races. So maybe the Olympic gold medalist had something in store for the rest of the season and hopefully for the 2026 season as well.

After a tough season, Sha’Carri Richardson eyes a staunch comeback

This year, she made her season debut at the Tokyo Golden Grand Prix, where Sha’Carri finished 4th in 11.47 seconds. Later, she revealed that she had an injury, and her performances kept getting worse. Following this, she finished in 9th place in 11.19 seconds at the Prefontaine Classic. But then she showed good signs in the 100m prelims of the USATF Championships, clocking her season best of 11.07 for 2nd place. However, she pulled out of the semifinals.

She later recorded a 6th-place finish at the Silesia Diamond League with a time of 11.05. Signs of a comeback emerged in Brussels, followed by a winning performance in the 100m heats at the World Championships. While she was unable to defend her 100m world title, she left a clear message that there is more to come.

Let’s hope she puts whatever happened until now in the back and hopefully we see the old Sha’Carri Richardson back on track.