Sha’Carri Richardson storms from scratch to a stunning Stawell Gift win American sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson surged through the field Monday to win the Stawell Gift, an annual race contested on handicap over 120 meters on grass in a small Australian town near Melbourne.
In the 144th edition of the event, Richardson provided one of its most breathtaking finales as she started at scratch and caught the field at the 90-meter mark before pulling away for an astonishing win in 13.15 seconds.
“Just make sure I’m patient that first 10-meters like my coach told me today, and just executing the rest,” Richardson told Seven Network television post race. “I think I realised I was gonna win right past 90.”
The 26-year-old American, one of the fastest women of all time, is just the third woman to win the race from scratch and claimed a prize of 40,000 Australian dollars (USD 27,500).
Richardson won a silver medal in the 100 meters in the 2024 Paris Olympics and gold in the 4×100 relay that same year. She also claimed the 100-meter title at the 2023 World Championships.
After a near calamity in the semifinals earlier Monday, where Richardson rose too soon and was almost pipped on the line, the American made no errors in the final, chasing down the field early and running through the line powerfully.
She celebrated with fans before embracing boyfriend and former world champion Christian Coleman, who was the marquee name of the men’s draw. She and Coleman remain in a relationship despite a domestic violence charge against Richardson last July.
“This is one of the most exciting, fun, and entertaining track meets I’ve ever run in, not just that, but the love, the true love and support for track and field, unbeatable,” she said.
Former 100-meter World Champion Coleman failed to qualify for the men’s final after finishing sixth in his semifinal earlier Monday with 12.48 seconds. Only the winners of the six semifinals for both the men’s and women’s divisions qualified for the respective finals.
Both Richardson and Coleman raced from “scratch”, meaning they were required to run the entire distance and chase down opponents, which proved too much of a gulf to bridge for Coleman, despite him closing the gap appreciably in the latter stages of his heat.
“Yeah, it is what it is, but I mean, I gave it everything I got, like you said, they’re great athletes, so when you’re giving up that much of a margin, I mean, it’s pretty tough,” Coleman said to Seven Network television.
Australian Olufemi Komolafe won the men’s Stawell Gift ahead of Jake Ireland and Dutchman Liam van der Schaaf.
Earlier Monday, Richardson powered through the field to win her semifinal by just 0.007 seconds after she leaned back at the finish, allowing local Halle Martin to almost steal the race in a photo finish.
“I feel like I am having a great time, but also working on race pattern, my coach Dennis Mitchell and I are staying calm, executing, and running through the line,” Richardson said after the semifinal.
In Saturday’s heats, Richardson, who gave away 10 meters to her closest competitor at the start, won her heat in 13.815 seconds, and Coleman his in 12.681.
There are more than 700 competitors in the Stawell race, including many of Australia’s top runners, in the event held about 235 kilometres (145 miles) west of Melbourne.
It has not been disclosed whether Richardson or Coleman has been paid appearance money to take part in the race. Last year, Australian media reported that top Australian sprinter Gout Gout was paid 50,000 Australian dollars (35,000) to run at Stawell, where he was eliminated in the semifinals.
Published on Apr 06, 2026
#ShaCarri #Richardson #storms #scratch #stunning #Stawell #Gift #win
American sprint star Sha’Carri Richardson surged through the field Monday to win the Stawell Gift, an annual race contested on handicap over 120 meters on grass in a small Australian town near Melbourne.
In the 144th edition of the event, Richardson provided one of its most breathtaking finales as she started at scratch and caught the field at the 90-meter mark before pulling away for an astonishing win in 13.15 seconds.
“Just make sure I’m patient that first 10-meters like my coach told me today, and just executing the rest,” Richardson told Seven Network television post race. “I think I realised I was gonna win right past 90.”
The 26-year-old American, one of the fastest women of all time, is just the third woman to win the race from scratch and claimed a prize of 40,000 Australian dollars (USD 27,500).
Richardson won a silver medal in the 100 meters in the 2024 Paris Olympics and gold in the 4×100 relay that same year. She also claimed the 100-meter title at the 2023 World Championships.
After a near calamity in the semifinals earlier Monday, where Richardson rose too soon and was almost pipped on the line, the American made no errors in the final, chasing down the field early and running through the line powerfully.
She celebrated with fans before embracing boyfriend and former world champion Christian Coleman, who was the marquee name of the men’s draw. She and Coleman remain in a relationship despite a domestic violence charge against Richardson last July.
“This is one of the most exciting, fun, and entertaining track meets I’ve ever run in, not just that, but the love, the true love and support for track and field, unbeatable,” she said.
Former 100-meter World Champion Coleman failed to qualify for the men’s final after finishing sixth in his semifinal earlier Monday with 12.48 seconds. Only the winners of the six semifinals for both the men’s and women’s divisions qualified for the respective finals.
Both Richardson and Coleman raced from “scratch”, meaning they were required to run the entire distance and chase down opponents, which proved too much of a gulf to bridge for Coleman, despite him closing the gap appreciably in the latter stages of his heat.
“Yeah, it is what it is, but I mean, I gave it everything I got, like you said, they’re great athletes, so when you’re giving up that much of a margin, I mean, it’s pretty tough,” Coleman said to Seven Network television.
Australian Olufemi Komolafe won the men’s Stawell Gift ahead of Jake Ireland and Dutchman Liam van der Schaaf.
Earlier Monday, Richardson powered through the field to win her semifinal by just 0.007 seconds after she leaned back at the finish, allowing local Halle Martin to almost steal the race in a photo finish.
“I feel like I am having a great time, but also working on race pattern, my coach Dennis Mitchell and I are staying calm, executing, and running through the line,” Richardson said after the semifinal.
In Saturday’s heats, Richardson, who gave away 10 meters to her closest competitor at the start, won her heat in 13.815 seconds, and Coleman his in 12.681.
There are more than 700 competitors in the Stawell race, including many of Australia’s top runners, in the event held about 235 kilometres (145 miles) west of Melbourne.
It has not been disclosed whether Richardson or Coleman has been paid appearance money to take part in the race. Last year, Australian media reported that top Australian sprinter Gout Gout was paid 50,000 Australian dollars (35,000) to run at Stawell, where he was eliminated in the semifinals.
Published on Apr 06, 2026
![Daniel Ricciardo opens up on F1 exit For many Formula 1 fans, Daniel Ricciardo was the face of their pathway to the sport. The first season of the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive centered on the driver’s surprising decision to leave Red Bull for Renault, and the charismatic driver helped draw many new fans to F1.So his return to the Red Bull family late in his career offered a chance for a Hollywood ending. But that fell short of hopes and expectations, when he was sidelined at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls late in the 2024 campaign.However, the driver admits that he was “grateful” that the team made that decision for him.In a new episode of the Drive podcast with Ford CEO Jim Farley, Ricciardo admitted that he was contemplating his future in the sport when VCARB decided to replace him following the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix with Liam Lawson.“In the third race in I broke my hand,” he said in the podcacst released by Ford. “It was such a nothing accident, but I missed however many races, I was out for 10 weeks or something.”Ricciardo suffered the injury after making a shocking return to VCARB midway through the 2023 season.The driver told Farley that he found himself wondering “[i]s this now a bit of a sign like should I just quit while I’m ahead, nearly. And I was like, no, there’s still unfinished business and I pushed through it.”Ricciardo returned for the finish to the 2023 season, and started the 2024 campaign as well. But the results did not follow.“I lasted another year in F1 and then ultimately got let go,” he said. “That was the reality at the time.”Ultimately, VCARB dropped him after the Singapore Grand Prix.“Once that happened, I’d been let go twice in the last two years. It had also taken a lot out of me. I’d put a lot of my soul into it and I did feel pretty exhausted by it.“In reflection, I was grateful that they made the decision for me, because I think it would have been hard to [say]: ‘I’m done’”.Riccardo also indicated that deep down, he knew it was the end.“There’s people that love you and will still tell you that you’re great and you can do it. But as much as you love them as well, you need to just close the door and make that decision on your own and be really honest with yourself,” said Ricciardo.“If I would have got to the end of last year, I think I would have still had a lot of these thoughts and had the conversation with myself because I knew it was becoming harder for me and I had to dig really deep to pull out a result that I was proud of.“You always want to believe everyone’s looking out for you, and they probably still are, but they don’t know what it’s like to be you and in your situation.” #Daniel #Ricciardo #opens #exit](https://i3.wp.com/platform.sbnation.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/04/imagn-23494716.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&crop=0%2C14.794222228928%2C100%2C70.411555542144&w=1200&ssl=1 "Daniel Ricciardo opens up on F1 exit For many Formula 1 fans, Daniel Ricciardo was the face of their pathway to the sport. The first season of the Netflix docuseries Drive to Survive centered on the driver’s surprising decision to leave Red Bull for Renault, and the charismatic driver helped draw many new fans to F1.So his return to the Red Bull family late in his career offered a chance for a Hollywood ending. But that fell short of hopes and expectations, when he was sidelined at Visa Cash App Racing Bulls late in the 2024 campaign.However, the driver admits that he was “grateful” that the team made that decision for him.In a new episode of the Drive podcast with Ford CEO Jim Farley, Ricciardo admitted that he was contemplating his future in the sport when VCARB decided to replace him following the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix with Liam Lawson.“In the third race in I broke my hand,” he said in the podcacst released by Ford. “It was such a nothing accident, but I missed however many races, I was out for 10 weeks or something.”Ricciardo suffered the injury after making a shocking return to VCARB midway through the 2023 season.The driver told Farley that he found himself wondering “[i]s this now a bit of a sign like should I just quit while I’m ahead, nearly. And I was like, no, there’s still unfinished business and I pushed through it.”Ricciardo returned for the finish to the 2023 season, and started the 2024 campaign as well. But the results did not follow.“I lasted another year in F1 and then ultimately got let go,” he said. “That was the reality at the time.”Ultimately, VCARB dropped him after the Singapore Grand Prix.“Once that happened, I’d been let go twice in the last two years. It had also taken a lot out of me. I’d put a lot of my soul into it and I did feel pretty exhausted by it.“In reflection, I was grateful that they made the decision for me, because I think it would have been hard to [say]: ‘I’m done’”.Riccardo also indicated that deep down, he knew it was the end.“There’s people that love you and will still tell you that you’re great and you can do it. But as much as you love them as well, you need to just close the door and make that decision on your own and be really honest with yourself,” said Ricciardo.“If I would have got to the end of last year, I think I would have still had a lot of these thoughts and had the conversation with myself because I knew it was becoming harder for me and I had to dig really deep to pull out a result that I was proud of.“You always want to believe everyone’s looking out for you, and they probably still are, but they don’t know what it’s like to be you and in your situation.” #Daniel #Ricciardo #opens #exit")
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