Budapest, Aug 22 (IANS): Debutant Sha'Carri Richardson outshone several renowned sprinters to clinch the top spot in the women's 100m race at the World Championships on Monday.
The 23-year-old American, beginning inconspicuously from the ninth lane, surged impressively, clocking a new tournament record of 10.65 seconds, Xinhua reports.
In a riveting face-off at center stage, Jamaican veterans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson vied for dominance. Fraser-Pryce's season-best of 10.77 seconds fell short against Jackson's 10.72 seconds. The pair could only observe as an elated Richardson jubilantly celebrated on the track.
"I'm here. I'm the champion. I told you all. I'm not back, I'm better," expressed Richardson, who had missed the Tokyo Olympic Games due to a suspension for cannabis use and failed to qualify for the previous year's World Championships because of subpar performance.
Holding five world champion titles in the event, Fraser-Pryce divulged her intent to forgo the 200m race.
"I am happy to do so because I will be able to rest a bit before the relay. I will probably come to the stands to watch and enjoy the competition and then run fast with my relay team," she remarked.
In the men's triple jump, Hugues Fabrice Zango secured Burkina Faso's inaugural World Championships gold with a leap of 17.64m. Following him were Cuban pair Lazaro Martinez and Cristian Napoles with jumps of 17.41m and 17.40m, respectively.
"I had so many difficulties and doubts, I have been struggling a lot. I had to travel a very long way to get this gold medal," shared the 30-year-old Olympic bronze medalist. "I am proud to be the man who keeps his word. I promised to make history and I did it tonight."
China's Olympic silver medalist, Zhu Yaming, placed fourth with a distance of 17.15m.
Jamaica's Jaydon Hibbert, boasting this year's world-leading result of 17.87m, unfortunately couldn't make an impact in the final. The top qualifier sustained a right thigh injury on his first jump.
Additionally, Olympic champion Daniel Stahl from Sweden shattered the Championships record, seizing the men's discus throw title with an impressive 71.46m. Slovenian Kristjan Ceh clinched second place with 70.02m, while Mykolas Alekna of Lithuania secured third with 68.85m.
Grant Holloway clinched his third consecutive world title in the men's 110m hurdles, sprinting to victory with a season-best time of 12.96 seconds.