Richardson wins 100m gold with Asher-Smith eighth
Dina Asher-Smith missed out on a 100m medal at the World Championships in Budapest as American Sha’Carri Richardson beat a star-studded field of rivals to claim her first major title.
Britain’s Asher-Smith finished a disappointing eighth in 11.00 seconds after scraping through the semi-finals.
Richardson, contesting her first major final at 23, clocked a championship record 10.65 secs to take victory.
Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson took silver ahead of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Jackson, the reigning 200m champion, ran 10.72 secs as compatriot and record five-time champion Fraser-Pryce finished in 10.77.
Three-time individual world medal winner Asher-Smith, who was crowned 200m champion in 2019, was left unsure as to why she could not perform at the level she expected.
“I’m almost in disbelief. I know myself and I know that I feel good. I came here for a new personal best,” she said.
“I know I’m in great shape. It doesn’t really happen to me – that’s why I’m so surprised.”
The 27-year-old has made a habit of producing her best at major championships, but her participation in the final was initially unclear after a unconvincing run in the semis earlier in the session.
Asher-Smith appeared to have qualified for the medal race as the last non-automatic qualifier by one thousandth of a second.
But Poland’s Ewa Swoboda was then also permitted to contest the final by organisers due to the miniscule difference between the times set by the two, leaving nine athletes in a stacked race featuring the six fastest women in the world.
In the final it was Richardson – competing at her first major championship after missing the Tokyo Olympics through suspension and failing to qualify for last year’s Worlds – who prevailed, greeting victory with joyous celebrations.