INDIANAPOLIS -- Only two other women in history have done what Sha’Carri Richardson (Clermont, Florida) did at the USATF Golden Games presented by Xfinity at Mt. SAC, and that earned her recognition as the 17th USATF Athlete of the Week award winner for 2021. Already the fastest woman in the world over 100m this year with a 10.72 at the Miramar Invitational in April, Richardson flew down the new Hilmer Lodge Stadium straightaway in the prelims to clock 10.74, and then won the final with a 10.77 that was done in the teeth of a 1.2 meters per second headwind. Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 and Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica in 2009 are the only other women ever to have run faster than 10.80 twice on a single day. Richardson sped away from the field in the final after a so-so start, winning by .31 seconds, and she now has four career sub-10.8 clockings. On the U.S. all-time performance list, only she and four other women have run as fast as 10.74. More top performances from the past week:
Rai Benjamin ran a world-leading 47.13 in the men’s 400m hurdles at the USATF Golden Games.
Shamier Little clocked a world-leading 53.65 to win the women’s 400m hurdles at the USATF Golden Games.
Chris Nilsen cleared a world outdoor leading 5.91m/19-4.75 to win the men’s pole vault at the USATF Golden Games.
Elle Purrier moved to No. 6 on the all-time U.S. performer list for the women’s 1,500m with her world-leading 3:58.36 at the USATF Golden Games.
Erriyon Knighton bettered his own U.S. U18 200m record with a 20.30 at the USATF Golden Games.
Now in its 20th year, USATF’s Athlete of the Week program is designed to recognize outstanding performers at all levels of the sport. USATF names a new honoree each week when there are high-level competitions and features the athlete on USATF.org. Selections are based on top performances and results from the previous week. 2021 Winners: January 21, KC Lightfoot; January 28, Ryan Crouser; February 4, Bryce Hoppel; February 11, Athing Mu; February 18, Elle Purrier; February 25, Jaylen Slade; March 4, Grant Holloway; March 11, Emmanuel Bor; March 18, Tara Davis; March 25, Emily Sisson; April 1, Tara Davis; April 8, Kenny Selmon; April 15, DeAnna Price; April 22, Athing Mu; April 29, Rudy Winkler; May 6, Trayvon Bromell; May 13, Sha’Carri Richardson. We welcome your nominations! To nominate an athlete for USATF Athlete of the Week, please send a detailed email about his/her performance to communications@usatf.org. Fans can follow along with #USATF on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.