FILE PHOTO: World Athletics Championships Tokyo 2025 - Women's 4 x 100m Relay Final - Japan National Stadium, Tokyo, Japan - September 21, 2025 Sha'Carri Richardson of the U.S. celebrates after crossing the finish line to win the final. REUTERS/Dylan Martinez/File Photo

American sprinter Richardson wins Stawell Gift from scratch

· CNA · Join

Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST Tap here to return to FAST
FAST

April 6 : American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson powered to victory from the back of the field at Australia's oldest and richest handicap footrace, the Stawell Gift, on Monday.

The annual race, which offers a prize of A$40,000 ($27,628), is run on a 120m uphill grass track with athletes handicapped according to ability and previous performances in sprints.

Richardson, who won silver in the 100m at the Paris Olympics and was on the gold medal-winning U.S. 4x100 relay team, crossed the finish line with an adjusted time of 13.15 seconds, ahead of Australian teenager Charlotte Nielsen.

Nielsen had a nine-metre head start on the 26-year-old Richardson, who qualified for the six-woman final after a photo finish in the semis.

CNA Games

Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time

Buzzword
Create words using the given letters

Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser

Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge

Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less

"Thank you. The love, the support, the true enjoyment that I had on the track, I know everybody's having here. I had a great time," Richardson told Channel 7.

Richardson became the third athlete to win the women's Gift from scratch since it was introduced in 1989, after Bree Rizzo in 2025 and Melissa Breen in 2012.

In the men's event, Richardson's boyfriend and 2019 world 100m champion Christian Coleman failed to advance from the semi-finals, with Australia's Olufemi Komolafe winning the final.

The race has been run in the small Victorian town of Stawell every Easter weekend since 1878 except for four years during World War Two and in 2020, when the COVID pandemic forced its cancellation.

($1 = 1.4478 Australian dollars)

Source: Reuters

Newsletter

Recommended Read

Subscribe to CNA's Recommended Read

A single handpicked story that we think you shouldn't miss. Just one a day.

Sign up for our newsletters

Get our pick of top stories and thought-provoking articles in your inbox

Subscribe here

Get the CNA app

Stay updated with notifications for breaking news and our best stories

Download here

Get WhatsApp alerts

Join our channel for the top reads for the day on your preferred chat app

Join here