Reigning world champion in the 100-meter race, Sha’Carri Richardson, was taken into custody last weekend for an alleged altercation with her boyfriend at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. Richardson was apprehended on Sunday on a charge of fourth-degree domestic violence, as stated in a police report obtained by The Associated Press. Despite this incident, she participated in the preliminary round of the women’s 100 meters event at the U.S. track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon on Thursday. Due to her previous victory, Richardson has secured an automatic qualification for the world championships in Tokyo in September.
The 25-year-old Richardson was processed at the South Correctional Entity (SCORE) in Des Moines, Washington, at 6:54 p.m. last Sunday and was subsequently released at 1:13 p.m. on Monday. USA Track and Field acknowledged being informed about the situation but refrained from making any comments on the matter, as per their official statement. Despite attempts to obtain a response, Richardson’s agent did not provide immediate feedback when contacted via email.
According to the police report, an officer at the airport was alerted by a Transportation Security Administration supervisor about a confrontation between Richardson and her boyfriend, Christian Coleman, who is also a sprinter. After reviewing surveillance footage, the officer witnessed Richardson grabbing Coleman’s backpack with her left arm and forcefully pulling it away. Subsequently, Richardson obstructed Coleman’s path, leading to him being pushed into a wall during the altercation. The report detailed an instance where Richardson seemed to have thrown an object, potentially identified as headphones, at Coleman.
The investigating officer noted in the report that Coleman expressed a desire not to proceed with the investigation any further and declined to be considered a victim in the incident. Richardson, who triumphed in the 100-meter event at the 2023 world championships in Budapest and clinched a silver medal at the Paris Games last year, also contributed to securing an Olympic gold in the 4×100 relay.
Notably, Richardson faced a setback during the 2021 U.S. Olympic trials due to a positive marijuana test, resulting in her absence from the Tokyo Olympics that year.