Sha’Carri Richardson’s silver medal in Paris was meant to confirm her as the face of women’s sprinting. Instead, the year that followed has shown a striking reversal. The Olympic runner-up has been unable to match the progress of her two greatest rivals, Julien Alfred and Melissa Jefferson-Wooden, who have used the 2025 season to redefine the women’s 100 meters. The contrast has been sharp.

Alfred, who seized gold for Saint Lucia in Paris, has carried her momentum through the Diamond League with victories in Stockholm, Monaco, and the series finale in Zurich. Her times have been consistently in the 10.7-second range, highlighted by a 10.75 in June. Jefferson-Wooden, meanwhile, has taken command on the American circuit. At the USA Outdoor Championships in August, she ran 10.65, the world’s leading mark this year and the joint-fifth fastest time in history. That came on the heels of her Prefontaine Classic win over Alfred and was followed by victories in Silesia and Brussels.

The numbers now illustrate the depth of their superiority. According to NBC Sports director Travis Miller (X/@travismillerx13), “🇺🇸Melissa Jefferson-Wooden and 🇱🇨Julien Alfred have 9 of the 10 fastest women’s 100m times going into the World Championships.” Jefferson-Wooden owns the season’s four fastest times, 10.65, 10.66, 10.73, and 10.75. And Alfred has added three more between 10.75 and 10.79. Only Jamaica’s Tina Clayton has disrupted their monopoly with a 10.81. And in that conversation, Sha’Carri Richardson was not featured.

A February injury delayed her start, and when she returned in May at the Tokyo Golden Grand Prix, she ran 11.47 for fourth place. Progress has been slow. A sixth-place finish in Silesia at 11.05 counted as a season’s best at the time. At the Prefontaine Classic, she was ninth in 11.19, far behind Alfred and Jefferson-Wooden. She admitted afterward, “I prayed for a healthy race, and I got a healthy race, so I accept that.” Her only relatively bright moment so far?

That was in Brussels in late August, where she placed second behind Jefferson-Wooden. Even then, her time was well outside the leading marks of her rivals. For an athlete who won the 2023 world title and anchored the United States to Olympic relay gold just a year ago, the downturn has been severe. Alfred and Melissa, by contrast, have created a season-long rivalry.

Jefferson-Wooden has remained undefeated in the 100 meters, defeating Alfred at the Prefontaine Classic and again in Brussels. Alfred has remained strong in the Diamond League, capturing the season title and maintaining her status as the clear No. 2 sprinter of the year. Both women have built their campaigns around consistency, while Richardson has struggled to string together even two convincing races. Meanwhile, the World Championships in Tokyo will mark the decisive test.

For now, the women’s 100 meters is not defined by the world champion of 2023, but by the duel between Jefferson-Wooden and Alfred, who hold almost complete control of the 2025 list. Still, following the streak of setbacks, Sha’Carri broke the drought with a long-awaited podium finish in Brussels 100m. But what is this comeback hinting at?

Sha’Carri Richardson ends year-long wait with podium return in Brussels 100m

For the first time in nearly a year, Sha’Carri Richardson reclaimed a place on the podium, securing second position at the Brussels Diamond League. After a stretch of erratic results and a season interrupted by injury, her composed run over 100 meters brought both relief and reassurance, arriving just as the World Championships loomed. Clocking 11.08 seconds, she followed training partner Melissa Jefferson-Wooden to the line, offering the crowd a smile, a handshake, and what appeared to be an audible sigh of release.

For months, Richardson had struggled to regain rhythm, beginning the season with unsteady results in Tokyo and Eugene. So, the sight of her finishing strong against Jefferson-Wooden and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce suggested that her preparation was aligning at the most critical point of the year. Speaking earlier with @sporza.be, Richardson had admitted that her approach on the track was stripped of complication.

“Oh my gosh, I feel like thinking takes away time…once you’re in the starting blocks, there’s nothing else to think about, it’s just all about actions.” That clarity was evident in Belgium, where she relied on instinct and pace rather than over-analysis, a strategy that finally delivered a podium place.

The victory belonged to Jefferson-Wooden, who spoke plainly of her own belief. “This year I have put in a lot of work and that is what makes me confident, I know what I’m capable of. This is probably the first season that I have zero doubts because I know that I worked hard.” Yet the story of the evening centered on Richardson’s ability to weather a long run of disappointments and find stability when it mattered most. By stepping back into contention in Brussels, she not only marked progress but also presented a timely argument that her championship resolve remained intact.

Whether it carries to Tokyo will soon be known, but this result provided the clearest signal yet that her recovery was gathering pace.