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World 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson is hoping to reclaim her throne in 2025 but who are the female sprinters standing on her way to glory this season?
American sprint queen Sha’Carri Richardson is among the female athletes expected to rule 2025 having been part of the standout names in the last two years.
Richardson is expected to defend her 100m world title, and also attempt a shot at 200m glory, but it will not be easy this season.
This because the level of competition is likely to go a notch higher from her track rivals as well as emerging talents, making her title defence at the 2025 World Championships in Tokyo, Japan a tough task.
So, heading into the 2025 season, who are the sprinters likely to give Sha’Carri Richardson a run for her money?
Julien Alfred
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Olympics champion Julien Alfred already laid down the marker when she stunned Sha’Carri Richardson at the Paris 2024 Olympics to claim the 100m gold medal.
Richardson had gone into the race hoping to add Olympics gold onto her world title but she could only manage silver as Saint Lucia’s Alfred beat her by a big margin.
Alfred would also win silver in 200m, a race Richardson did not qualify for at the Olympics, before beating her in the Diamond League, and the two will go toe-to-toe again in 2025 as the American sprint queen looks to avenge last year’s loss.
Gabby Thomas
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Another athlete set to give Sha’Carri Richardson a run for her money is three-time Paris Olympics gold medalist Gabby Thomas.
The two will square it off this year in the 200m which Richardson will be competing in and Thomas stands on her way to victory given she is the Olympics champion over the distance and also beat her at the 2023 World Championships.
The world 200m silver medalist reigned supreme at the US Olympics trials in the 200m, when Richardson failed to clinch an Olympics ticket, and she will be looking to assert her authority as her rival seeks a comeback in a race in which she won bronze at the 2023 World Championships.
Shericka Jackson
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Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson and Sha’Carri Richardson had an intense battle on track in 2023, when she won gold in 200m and silver in 100m, as the latter claimed bronze and gold in that order.
However, Jackson experienced an injury-ravaged 2024 season that saw her miss the Paris Olympics but she is back on and ready to reclaim her status as the 200m queen given she holds the second fastest time in history.
Expect Jackson and Richardson to put up intense battles which will culminate with the hunt for gold at the World Championships in Tokyo in September.
Elaine Thompson-Herah
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Another Jamaican on the list, former Olympics 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah and Sha’Carri Richardson have not competed so much on track but 2025 will be different.
Like Jackson, Thompson-Herah’s 2024 season was also disrupted by injuries and she featured in just two races, finishing ninth, both in 100m, before pulling out of the Olympics with an injury.
However, with a new coach and renewed energy and spirit, the four-time Olympics champion has promised to return to her glory days, which is extra competition for Richardson in both 100m and 200m in 2025.
Brittany Brown
More competition for Sha’Carri Richardson will come from American rival Brittany Brown, the Olympics 200m bronze medalist and 2024 Diamond League champion over the distance.
Brown had one over Richardson at the Olympics trials, when she finished second in the 200m, before going on to claim a bronze medal in Paris and completed her season in style by beating Gabby Thomas in 200m at the Athlos women’s-only event, where she also placed second in 100m.
Heading into 2025, Brown is among athletes set to give Richardson a run for her money in both 100m and 200m.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
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Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce has stayed mum over her next plans but a return to competition is very much on the cards.
That is not good news for the likes of Sha’Carri Richardson who will have to deal with increased competition.
A 10-time world champion, including five 100m crowns, and three-time Olympics gold medalist, the 38-year-old has plenty of experience and will be looking to reassert her authority after pulling out of her Olympics 100m semi-final race due to reasons she is yet to disclose.
Melissa Jefferson
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Competition will start from right at the doorstep for Sha’Carri Richardson as her training partner Melissa Jefferson is among sprinters set to give her a run for her money in 2025.
Jefferson finished behind Richardson in Paris to claim Olympics bronze and also joined her in delivering the 4x100m relay gold for Team USA.
The 23-year-old also runs the 200m which means it is double trouble for the world champion who will have to contend with both internal and external competition this season.
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