By David Melly
August 22, 2023
The script-writers went crazy with this one.
In an evening of track and field that could only be described as cinematic for its twists, turns, and fairytale ending, American Sha’Carri Richardson is now a World champion.
She took down the fastest woman in the world this year and the most decorated woman of all time, placing an American flag atop a podium that Jamaica swept only one year earlier and adding another thrilling chapter to the incredible rivalry between the two powerhouse sprinting nations. We’ll break down more of how the final played out below, but the symbolism and impact of the race couldn’t have been better for the sport.
Every detail added drama and intrigue. From way back in July, when Richardson and Jackson dropped incredible performances on the same weekend thousands of miles apart at their respective national championships, to their head-to-head matchups in Diamond Leagues, to the introduction of other rivals and small bumps along the road in training. Richardson’s shaky semifinal performance meant she had to wait to see whether her time would qualify her for the final, and she landed out at the end of the track in lane 9, far from the other favorites in the middle lanes. And yet it was Sha’Carri closing down one of the greatest fields ever assembled, Sha’Carri screaming with delight, Sha’Carri grabbing a flag from the crowd. The occasionally frosty vibes between the Americans and Jamaicans were nowhere to be seen tonight as all three medalists embraced, celebrated, and gave the fans the show they wanted.
And the movie doesn’t end here: Jackson and Richardson are back in the 200m in a few days, everyone throws down in the relay, and then we all pack it up and do it again next summer in Paris. The perfect alchemy of personality, intrigue, and performance in the women’s sprints has made the 100m the ultimate fan experience all year and we can only hope they carry the rest of the sport with them as they bring new energy and new eyes into an Olympic year.
Over in the discus ring, Swede Daniel Stahl added a little drama of his own, overtaking rival Kristjan Ceh and throwing a championship record of 71.46m in the final round of the competition. Hugues Zango of Burkina Faso won his country’s first ever World gold medal in the men’s triple jump with a leap of 17.64m as, sadly, young Jamaican phenom Jaydon Hibbert suffered an injury in the first round of jumping. And while Grant Holloway winning hurdles races is hardly unexpected, the American picking up his third straight world title in the 110m hurdles was an incredible show of consistency and dominance in a tightly-competitive event.
The next act of the Grand Budapest Track Meet continues this afternoon, with plenty of opportunity for the middle-distance runners to provide their own theatrics in the final of the women’s 1500m and men’s steeplechase.
Join us LIVE on the CITIUS MAG YouTube at 9am E.T. for the Worlds Live Show featuring all interviews with all the biggest athletes, coaches, and media personalities of Budapest 23 and 4:00pm E.T. for the daily Post-Race Show featuring Chris Chavez, Kyle Merber, David McCarthy, Jasmine Todd, and Katelyn Hutchison unpacking all the action. You can also catch up on Day 3’s Live from Worlds featuring Team USA marathoner Nico Montañez and coach Andrew Kastor, Canadian national record holder in the marathon Natasha Wodak, and U.S. 1500m champ Nikki Hiltz if you missed it yesterday!
And you can catch up on CHAMPS CHATS below with the CITIUS team to hear our recaps, analysis, and breakdowns of Day 3 below, on YouTube, or wherever you get your podcasts.
What to Watch on Day 4
Finals: Men’s High Jump, Women’s Discus, Women’s 1500m, Men’s 3000m Steeplechase
We’ll get our first peek at the stacked women’s 100m hurdles as they contest their first round at 12:40pm E.T. this afternoon. World record holder Tobi Amusan has been cleared to compete, and she’ll have her work cut out for her facing off with Olympic champ Jasmine Camacho-Quinn and U.S. stars Nia Ali and Keni Harrison.
The semifinals of the men’s 400m and women’s 400m hurdles will set up a pair of stacked finals in two events with interesting comeback narratives - Bahamian Steven Gardiner and South African Wayde Van Niekerk coming back from injury and Femke Bol of the Netherlands seeking redemption after her mixed 4×400m disaster. Then it’s finals all the way down, with Qatari star Mutaz Essa Barshim seeking his fourth straight World title in the high jump and American Valarie Allman looking to claim the gold medal that eluded her in Eugene last year in the discus. Kenyan legend Faith Kipyegon will also look to add to her insanely impressive resume in her pursuit of a fifth global 1500m title, but she’ll have to hold off 2019 champ Sifan Hassan and a talented field of challengers to do it. And the evening wraps up with the men’s steeplechase final, where world record holder Lamecha Girma of Ethiopia will attempt to dethrone rival Soufiane El Bakkali of Morocco for the first time in a major championship.
So hop on Peacock or the USA Network so you can tell your grandkids you saw greatness in action live on TV.
Johnny Zhang/@jzsnapz
Race of the Day: Women’s 100 Meters
We already broke down the narrative and import of the women’s 100 meters, but it’s worth taking a moment to also acknowledge the race itself from a technical standpoint.
In a way, Sha’Carri Richardson won this thing with her start: She had the slowest reaction time of any in the semifinals, and it meant she had to do a lot of work in the second half of the race only to finish 3rd in her heat. In the finals, she was 0.066 seconds quicker in her reaction to the gun, and her margin of victory over Shericka Jackson was 0.07 seconds. Running in lane 9 meant that the women farther up the track couldn’t see her clearly, but in a final, that shouldn’t matter much - everyone should be running hard all the way through the line. And not only did Richardson win, but she also ran historically fast - her 10.65 moved her up the all-time list to #5, tied with Jackson and Marion Jones. Together, this year’s World’s podium accounted for 3 of the 7 fastest women in history, and if Elaine Thompson-Herah runs the 4×100m for Jamaica, we’ll see all four in the same race.
You’ve got to hand it to Marie-Josee Ta Lou, whose 10.81 4th-place finish is the fastest time any woman has ever run to NOT win a medal in a global final. And you’ve got to raise a glass to Julien Alfred in 5th: the NCAA champ has been racing since January and only lost her first 100-meter race of the year in the World final.
Last but not least, it’s hard to add even more superlatives to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s legendary career, but it’s absolutely worth acknowledging that a 36-year-old winning her 24th career global medal after being injured at the start of the season is an incredible testament to her longevity, resilience, and ability to perform. When Fraser-Pryce went to her first World Championships in 2007, fellow 2023 finalist Tamari Davis was only four years old.
Johnny Zhang/@jzsnapz
Athlete of the Day: Grant Holloway
Grant Holloway is not unbeatable, but he’s the closest it gets in one of the most volatile sports in track and field, the high hurdles. He’s run 14 of his 15 110m hurdles races this year (counting rounds) and has put up similar stats every year going back to 2018. In 2021, he won 15 straight races only to lose his first competition in the Olympic final - although he still took silver. But at every World Championship Holloway has contested, he’s come home with gold.
This time around, his win seemed assured from the prelims, as he was never seriously challenged in any of the three rounds of racing. In the final, Olympic champ Hansle Parchment of Jamaica put together his best race of the year, but even he couldn’t take down the king. Holloway’s 12.96 was a season’s best and his 0.11 second margin of victory was comparatively large for such a short event, and his 60-meter speed (he’s the world record holder in the shortest hurdle event) meant that he had gold locked up from the gun. Behind him, fellow American Daniel Roberts, who’s had much worse luck in his World championship campaigns, finally picked up a medal of his own in third, but it’s clear that for the foreseeable future, it’s Holloway’s world and we’re just living in it.
Johnny Zhang/@jzsnapz
Photo of the Day
Lieke Klaver of the Netherlands makes sub-50 look easy in the semifinals of the women’s 400m, captured by Johnny Zhang.
Social Moment to Remember
A proud and emotional Noah Lyles tears up during the medal ceremony for the men’s 100 meters.
Report from the Mixed Zone
Alison dos Santos talks about his journey back to the World Championship final after suffering a knee injury in January of this year.
CITIUS MAG's coverage of the 2023 World Athletics Championships is powered by ASICS. You can follow the action on Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube and check out ASICS on Instagram or their website.
David Melly
David began contributing to CITIUS in 2018, and quickly cemented himself as an integral part of the team thanks to his quick wit, hot takes, undying love for the sport and willingness to get yelled at online.
