“I have a feeling that it’s going to be something legendary.” Big words from Sha’Carri Richardson that carried the bold assurance that has long defined her. At the Paris 2024 Olympics, Richardson won gold in the women’s 4x100m relay and silver in the 100m, cementing her place among the world’s fastest. She added a third relay gold at the 2025 World Championships, though a fifth-place finish in the individual 100m final cast a shadow over the year. Now, heading into 2026, she’s determined to live up to those words again and fans are taking notice.
In a video posted by Erin Brown on April 14, a former NCAA sprinter who has now become a track-and-field TikToker, the two-time Olympic medalist can be seen training.
“Sha’carri Richardson seems to be in some suburb (superb) form. My prediction is she will end the year as the fastest woman in the world once again,” Brown wrote on his X page.
Having just wrapped up her Having just wrapped up her season-opening win at the Stawell Gift in Australia, where she overcame a nine-meter deficit to beat a field of amateurs and semi-professionals, becoming only the third woman in the race’s history to win from scratch in a time of 13.15 seconds over 120 meters on grass, Richardson appears to be in sharp form as she builds toward the Diamond League circuit on May 16, 2026.
However, the video had one user questioning whether Richardson had truly overcome her problem of slow starts, “Good yes, but difficult to tell in terms of a model as she didn’t start from the ground. If she can get to that position after transition from a block start… might be a wrap,” they wrote on X.
Sha’carri Richardson seems to be in some suburb form. My prediction is she will end the year as the fastest woman in the world once again. pic.twitter.com/OtiQXHpuxW
— The Erin Brown
(@TheErinBrown) April 14, 2026
The 26-year-old, after all, is notoriously slow at the start of her races, which has especially hurt her in the 100m. Not slow per se, but more mediocre in the first two phases of the race before turning into an elite sprinter in the final two phases, which has defined her career so far. In fact, few women sprinters have finished races as fast as Sha’Carri Richardson since her debut, but countless have started better.
Then, injuries derailed her 2025 season with no individual 100m wins. She finished fourth at the Tokyo Golden Grand Prix, exited early in the 200m at the USATF Championships, took second at Brussels Diamond League behind Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, and placed fifth at the World Championships in Tokyo. The USA claimed the 4x100m relay gold with her anchor leg.
Richardson stormed back with a scratch-line win at the 2026 Stawell Gift. She covered 120m in 13.15s and overtook rivals given up to 10m head starts. Whether for better or worse remains to be seen, but based solely on the video Brown posted, many believe it’s for the best.
Fan reacts to Sha’Carri Richardson’s sprinting form
“This is probably the BEST I’ve ever seen her look symmetrically. If she puts her natural turnover behind this symmetry…yeaaaa it’s gone be very interesting what comes from it. She has almost zero wasted movements in this video. I’m impressed,” wrote a fan on X.
It marks a stark difference from her performances in 2025, with many hoping she has successfully banished her ghosts from her past. That is especially since Richardson made the podium just twice in 2025 across all the major races she ran, winning the 4x100m relay at the World Athletics Championships and the previously mentioned silver at the Memorial van Damme Diamond League meet.
Beyond that, Richardson finished fourth at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix, ninth at the Prefontaine Classic, sixth at the Silesia Kamila Skolimowska Memorial, and fifth at the 2025 World Athletics Championship, all in the 100m. In the 200m, she failed to qualify for the final of the USATF Outdoor Championships, losing out in the semi-final after placing fourth, well behind heat winner McKenzie Long.
But the change is evident and fans have noticed it, reigniting their support for her, as one wrote, “I’m rooting for her. Just want to see her win
but it won’t be easy”
It definitely won’t be easy, given that Sha’Carri Richardson is confirmed to be racing at the Shanghai Diamond League meet and the Xiamen Diamond League meet. She’ll be racing in the 200m at both meets but faces tough tough competition, including her long-standing rival Shericka Jackson. Beyond that, current world number 2 Anavia Battle will take the track at Xiamen alongside Amy Hunt and McKenzie Long.
All four women will also line up against Richardson at the Shanghai Diamond League alongside Jenna Prandini, China’s Chen Yujie and a few others. It’s a tough, tough road ahead, but as one fan pointed to, “Ohhhh she lookin like a MACHINE” which may just help Richardson’s cause.
That’s only if she keeps the form going into those races, although one fan had high hopes, writing, “This is going to be her year again. Her and Melissa are going to be swapping the world lead”.
Melissa just happens to be Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, another rival of Sha’Carri Richardson and one who has consistently beaten her recently. But the 26-year-old Richardson holds the overall record (9-5 in the 100m across all races), although Jefferson-Wooden is currently on a four-race winning streak. She also won the gold medal at the 2025 Tokyo World Championships after winning three Diamond League meets and will be hoping to keep that form going.
Now, given Sha’Carri Richardson’s recent improvements, especially in her form and efficiency, there are clear signs that she may have finally addressed the very flaw that held her back. Will she prove herself in the upcoming races? Only time will tell.
