American sprint star Sha'Carri Richardson has become the third woman ever to win the famous Stawell Gift from scratch, clocking 13.15 seconds in the 120-metre handicap race. The Olympic gold medallist overcame a slow start to storm home in the final strides, beating Charlotte Nielsen, who had started nine metres ahead.
Richardson, 26, said the race was one of the most exciting she had ever run, praising the crowd's love for track and field. The 2023 100m world champion and Paris Olympic silver medallist pumped her fists in delight as she crossed the line.
The final was delayed by a false start from teenager Grace Crowe, who was penalised one metre. Richardson appeared to benefit from the restart, getting a cleaner start the second time around. Earlier, she had scraped through her semifinal, beating Halle Martin by just 0.007 seconds after easing up late.
In the men's race, Australian Olufemi Komolafe won ahead of Jake Ireland and Dutch hurdler Liam van der Schaaf. Brendan Matthews was a late scratching due to a hamstring injury sustained in his semifinal.
