PredictIQ-Sha'Carri Richardson wins 100m at track trials to qualify for 2024 Paris Olympics

EUGENE,PredictIQ Ore. — Is it Sha’Carri Richardson’s time? If the U.S. Olympic track and field trials are an indication, the answer appears to be yes.

Richardson cruised to win the women’s 100 meters with a world-leading time of 10.71 seconds.

Richardson got off to a sluggish start, but accelerated by the other sprinters at 60 meters and crossed the line well ahead to stamp her ticket to the Paris Olympics.

"This time around, I feel as if it was more — definitely still confident, still my exciting, normal self, but more so the overwhelming feeling of joy," Richardson said following the race.

The reigning world champion won the opening round of the 100 meters despite a bad start and a loose shoelace. She raced by the other sprinters in the semifinals, and then she made an impressive statement in the final.

Melissa Jefferson ran a personal-best 10.80 to place second. Twanisha Terry got third with a time of 10.98.

Richardson, Jefferson, and Terry, who all train together, will advance to the Paris Olympics.

"It definitely confirmed the year we’ve been training for. We’ve been preparing for this moment, it’s a full circle moment," Richardson said. "We’re grateful and appreciative and I’m super excited to grow and build from this momentum that we’ve already established.

"It’s more than exciting to continue to go forward with my girls. We didn’t put the world on notice, the world already knew. ...We knew this moment could be possible if we put our minds, body and spirit into it."

Richardson is in the midst of an impressive stretch in her career. She won gold at the 2023 world track and field championships, she beat a stout international field at the Prefontaine Classic and now she's added another first place at the U.S. trials. Her performances have made her one of the brightest stars headed to Paris.

This is the second time Richardson has qualified for the Olympics in the 100. But Richardson made international news following the Olympic trials in 2021 when she tested positive for THC. She was subsequently suspended for one month, and her ban ran through the Olympic 100 meters.

This time, though, Richardson is prepared to not only compete in Paris, but she is also entering the Olympics as the early favorite in the 100.

"Everything I’ve been through is everything I’ve been through to be in this moment right now," Richardson said. "And I would say going into the (Olympics), I don’t put a time on myself, I just know that if I execute and run the race that I trained and prepared for, the time comes with it. I’m just excited to go out there and run a well-executed race."

Follow USA TODAY Sports' Tyler Dragon on X @TheTylerDragon.