Sha’Carri Richardson left her rivals in the dust when the American claimed victory in the 100m in the Diamond League season opener in Doha.
Richardson, who was expected to be one of the biggest draws at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 before accepting a month-long suspension after testing positive for cannabis, set a competition record with a time of 10.76 seconds.
The 23-year-old beat Jamaican 200m world champion Shericka Jackson (10.85), while Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith was third (10.98) in a field that featured five Americans on the line. output.
“I am so blessed and grateful, I feel at peace. Everything I do is the best I do and I’m excited to do it,” Richardson said. “As I said before, I had to be thrown out of another 100m race, so I had to do my best no matter what. Peace, love and life.”
Asher-Smith, who won the 200m world title in Doha in 2019, said she was happy with her third-place finish. “The goal of my season is to compete against the best and I did that tonight. I am very happy with my race, third place is a good start and the time is decent”, she said.
In the men’s 200 metres, American Fred Kerley took victory on track seven with a time of 19.92 seconds, using his long strides to his advantage over the final 40 metres. The American, who won silver in the 100m at the Tokyo Olympics, edged out compatriot and Tokyo 200m silver medalist Kenneth Bednarek (20.11), who finished second, while Canadian Aaron Brown (20.20) was third.
“I was comfortable, but I know I still have work to do. The most important thing was to win and I did,” Kerley said. “I was happy with the competition, it was good, the boys gave me a fight.”
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His fellow Canadian and reigning Olympic champion Andre De Grasse was in lane eight and could only manage a sixth-place finish despite the best time of the season.