Sha'Carri Richardson proclaimed after her win on Monday that she's not back, she's better.
The Dallas native continued to prove that on Friday by posting a personal-best time of 21.92 seconds in the 200 meters to earn a bronze medal at the world championships in Budapest, Hungary.
Richardson, 23, won the women's 100-meter world title Monday, outsprinting a star-studded field to take a gold medal two years after a positive marijuana test derailed her Olympic dreams. She was attempting to win the coveted double gold on Friday, but was denied after Jamaica's Shericka Jackson ran the second-fastest women's 200m time in history with a 21.41 to capture her second-straight title.
Jackson jumped out to a commanding lead on the straightaway and finished comfortably ahead of the field, with American sprinter Gabrielel Thomas placing second with a time of 21.41. Jackson's time was the best ever posted at the world championships and just .07 seconds shy of the 200m world record held by Florence Griffith-Joyner.
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Among the first to embrace Jackson after her world title victory was Richardson, who ran over to give her a hug.
Richardson was competing in her first major competitions since she appeared ready to become America’s next sprint star when she cruised to a win at Olympic trials two years ago. But that victory quickly came off the books after she tested positive for marijuana — a doping violation she readily admitted, saying she was in a bad place after the recent death of her mom.
A raucous debate ensued over whether marijuana, not a performance enhancer, really belonged on the banned list (it’s still there), and also whether regulators were too keen to go after a young, outspoken, Black, American woman (they said everyone is subject to the same rules).
After a few unsuccessful comeback attempts — she finished an embarrassing last at a much-hyped return a few weeks after the Tokyo Olympics — Richardson finally started rounding into form to start 2023. About a year ago, she bared her soul in a live chat on social media, urging people to find their true selves, much the way she had done.
She certainly appeared to be in Olympic form at the world championships, finishing her 100m victory in 10.65 seconds to match the year's best time and set the world-championship record.
“I’m here, I told y’all,” she told the track announcer right after the race. “I’m not back, I’m better.”
American sprinter Noah Lyles captured double gold in the men's events by winning the 100m and 200m. He became the first man to win both events at the world championships since Jamaica's Usain Bolt in 2015.
The Associated Press's Ed Pells contributed to this report.
