Sha’Carri Richardson’s Loss Opens Unknown Chapters as American Track & Field Coach Drops Stark Warnings

Sha’Carri Richardson’s opening race didn’t end up that well… and it wasn’t just the clock that told the story. On the very track that will host this year’s World Championships, the reigning 100m queen stepped into her 2025 season, and it felt more like a stumble than a stride. A sluggish 11.47 seconds. Fourth place. No podium. No fire. Just a long look at the scoreboard and a quiet walk back. Bree Rizzo of Australia? She took the win. Twanisha Terry? She edged past, too. A false start scare rattled the nerves, and when the green card dropped, Sha’Carri’s rhythm never came back. This wasn’t the Richardson we remembered. The results, like these, are likely to have perspectives we already have one.

Sha’Carri Richardson’s 2025 campaign is shaping up to be one of scrutiny and high expectations. After all, when you’re the reigning 100m world champion, eyes are bound to follow your every move—or stumble. And right now, many are wondering how she plans to navigate her path to the Worlds this season. A big part of that uncertainty? The bye.

Because Sha’Carri won the 100m title in 2023, she’s automatically qualified for the World Championships this year. She doesn’t have to run at the USA trials. Technically, she doesn’t have to show up until that one race that matters most.

That’s something track and field coach Rob addressed on his YouTube channel recently, speaking to the narrative head-on: “The prevailing narrative is this: Sha’Carri Richardson really only has to run in one meet this year — the World Championship. And because she won the 100m title in 2023, she technically doesn’t have to qualify at the USA trials. It just is what it is.” But is that a good thing? That’s where the debate heats up. “Getting a bye to Worlds — some people say it’s a blessing, but it could also be a curse,” Rob said, pointing to Fred Kerley’s 2023 season as a cautionary tale. “Look at Fred Kerley in 2023 because he had a buy to the Worlds and then did not perform well when he got there. Just saying.”

Kerley, the 2022 world champion in the 100m at Eugene, didn’t have to go through the trials either. And in Budapest? He didn’t even make the final. He went out in the semis.

That kind of drop-off matters. And as Rob put it, “I actually think that running at the trials or running at the, you know, USA Championship or whatever you want to call it is a pretty good preparation competitively for going out there at the world stage… makes sense because we have a whole bunch of fast runners for you to have to eliminate just to get out there.”

Sha’Carri Richardson had whirlwind of

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