MIAMI: American Sha'Carri Richardson tied the ninth-fastest women's 100m time in history Saturday, clocking 10.72sec at the Miramar Invitational in Florida.
The 21-year-old became the sixth-fastest woman ever as she signalled her status as a potential challenger to Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson – the reigning world and Olympic champions – at the Tokyo Games.
Richardson's previous career best was 10.75, set on June 8, 2019 in the prestigious NCAA collegiate championships in Austin, Texas, where she broke the world junior record established in 1977 by German Marlies Gohr.
That time had put her, at 19, among the 10 fastest women in the world, tied with American Kerron Stewart.
With Saturday's time, posted in a wind of 1.6m/sec, only Florence Griffith Joyner, Carmelita Jeter, Marion Jones, Fraser-Pryce and Thompson have gone faster.
Griffith Joyner, who died in 1998 at the age of 38, holds the three best times in history of 10.49, 10.61 and 10.62. Jeter has run a 10.64, Jones 10.65 and both Fraser-Pryce and Thompson have run 10.70.--AFP