‘I’m back!’: Richardson takes stunning World 100m gold

Sha’Carri Richardson made up for missing the Tokyo Olympics due to a drug ban to sensationally win the women’s 100m world title in Budapest on Monday in a championship record of 10.65sec. The 23-year-old American stormed home from lane nine to edge Jamaican duo Shericka Jackson, who ran 10.72sec, and five-time champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who clocked 10.77sec.Richardson missed the delayed Tokyo Games in 2021 after testing positive for marijuana at the US trials. However, after surviving a terrible start in her semi-final she was a different prospect in the final in the Hungarian capital. As she crossed the line she looked up at the screen and held her hands to her face with a look of shock. "I’m back, I’m back!" she said once she got her breath back.Richardson had barely made it into the final, going through only as one of the two fastest losers after almost being left in her blocks in the semi.However, she made no mistake when it really mattered, getting out of the blocks fast and although Jackson held the lead entering the final few metres the American had enough leg speed to pass her.Jackson’s dreams of becoming only the fourth woman to achieve the sprint double have been shattered but she still has the 200m title to defend later this week. Jackson, who has not always seen eye-to-eye with Richardson, went over and embraced her. Fraser-Pryce, 36, edged veteran Marie-Josee Ta Lou for the bronze. The Jamaican still managed a smile despite missing out on equalling pole vaulter Sergey Bubka’s world championship record of six golds in the same event.Wearing one of her trademark brightly-coloured wigs, Fraser-Pryce seemed content with her performance as she had a truncated season due to a knee injury. "Given the circumstances of how I started the season I am really grateful," she said. "For me I am grateful I have another medal to add to the tally."Seven of the nine finalists went under 11 seconds in a top-class final that reflected an era of high-quality women’s sprinting. "Last year I ran and won in a championship record and it took another championship record to win tonight," said Fraser-Pryce. "So it just speaks to the level of consistency for female sprinting and being able to make sure that when you show up you have to give 100 percent. For female sprinting it is really remarkable to see the growth of the athletes."Richardson is the first American woman to win the world championships 100m since the late Tori Bowie in London in 2017. Bowie was found dead at her home earlier this year aged 32.Zango makes history forBurkina Faso in triple jumpHugues Fabrice Zango gave Burkina Faso their first global athletics title when he won men’s triple jump gold.The 30-year-old won with a best effort of 17.64m to add gold to his world silver last year and Olympic bronze in 2021, which was the west African nation’s first ever Olympic medal. "The competition was easy for me," he said. Two Cubans filled the minor medals positions, Lazaro Martinez (17.41) and Cristian Napoles (17.40). Veteran American Will Claye finished seventh in the 32-year-old two-time silver medallist’s seventh and final world championships. Zango’s path to glory had become a lot easier in the first round.Jamaican prodigy Jaydon Hibbert’s hopes of winning world championship triple jump gold ended in agony as he pulled up with a sore right hamstring. The 18-year-old, the world leader in the event this year with 17.87m coming into the championships in Budapest, received treatment in the stadium. However, Hibbert conceded defeat and packed his bag as his rivals performed their third jump. Hibbert was favoured to win after defending champion Pedro Pichardo of Portugal withdrew before the championships.Holloway wins thirdconsecutive 110m hurdles titleAmerican Grant Holloway raced to his third consecutive Worlds gold medal in the men’s 110 metres hurdles. The 25-year-old, who won in 2019 in Doha and last year in Eugene, led from the first hurdle and held on for the victory in a season’s best 12.96 seconds.Hansle Parchment of Jamaica closed well to take the silver in 13.07, while Daniel Roberts of the United States crossed in 13.09 for bronze. The final was missing the world’s fastest man this season, Rasheed Broadbell of Jamaica (12.94) who crashed out in the preliminary round.Sweden’s Stahl takes discusgold with final throwOlympic champion Daniel Stahl won a dramatic World Championship discus gold with the final throw on Monday just minutes after Kristian Ceh thought he had done enough to retain his title when his final throw edged him in front of the Swede. Five men had gone beyond 70 metres this year but none of the field looked able to threaten it for most of Monday’s contest.On a hot, sultry night Slovenian Ceh led with 69.27 in the second round before Stahl went 10cm further in the fourth. With only two throwers left to go, Ceh finally crossed the 70 mark with 70.02 but showed only a muted celebration, knowing just what a competitor his big rival is.Sure enough, Stahl launched the disc 71.46 - the second-longest throw of the year and a championship record - to take gold. Lithuania’s 20-year-old Mykolas Alekna, whose father won the world title twice, took bronze with 68.85.