Richardson cruises through Olympic 100m heat

PARIS: Sha´Carri Richardson launched her bid for Olympic redemption with a comfortable victory in the opening heats of the women´s 100 metres at the Stade de France on Friday.

The reigning world champion -- aiming to become the first American since Gail Devers in 1996 to win Olympic 100m gold -- sailed through her heat in 10.94sec. The 24-year-old Texan burst out of the blocks smoothly and was quickly into her stride before pulling away early on and then shutting it down well before the finish line in a supremely confident first ever race in an Olympic Games.

“To be at the Olympics is a phenomenal feeling,” Richardson told US broadcaster NBC after her impressive debut. “To be an athlete here, competing with the energy, with a great appreciation for the track and field, it gives great support to be a track and field athlete.

“So I´m super excited to compete on the Olympic stage.” Richardson is competing in Paris three years after her dreams of Olympic gold in Tokyo were wrecked by a positive test for marijuana following her victory at US trials.

However the flamboyant track star roared back to the pinnacle of her sport with a surprise victory at last year´s World Championships in Budapest and is considered the hot favourite for her event in Paris.