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Sha’Carri Richardson arrested: One of fastest female sprinters in history caught speeding over 100 mph

For the 25-year-old sprinter, this is not the first brush with law. Last year, Richardson issued a public apology to her boyfriend, Christian Coleman, after she was arrested on a fourth-degree domestic violence offense

2 min readJan 30, 2026 11:23 AM IST

(LEFT) Sha'Carri Richardson looks on after winning the gold medal in the women's 4x100 meters relay at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo; (RIGHT) Richardson's mugshot after her arrest. ( Photos: AP, Orange County Sheriff's Office)

One of the fastest women of all time on the track, Sha’Carri Richardson, was arrested and charged with speeding in the US state of Florida on Thursday. Media reports noted that the American Olympic gold medalist was arrested for allegedly going 104 mph (167 kph) on a parkway just outside of Orlando. A report on the local NBC affiliate WESH said that Richardson posted a $500 bond and has since been released from jail.

The Associated Press quoted a spokesperson for the Orange County sheriff’s department as saying that Richardson was “dangerously tailgating and traveling across lanes of travel to pass other motorists.”

For the 25-year-old sprinter, this is not the first brush with law. Last year, Richardson issued a public apology to her boyfriend, Christian Coleman, after she was arrested on a fourth-degree domestic violence offense for allegedly assaulting Coleman at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in July. The case was reportedly cleared after Coleman declined to press charges against her.

Richardson won a silver medal in the 100 meters in the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics, and gold in the 4×100 relay that same year. Richardson’s Olympic medals came after she was disqualified from the 2020 Olympics when she tested positive for chemicals found in marijuana.

While she accepted a 30-day suspension from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for the violation, her absence during the Tokyo Olympics had led to a debate over the criminalization of marijuana, given its growing acceptance and legalization in multiple states.