Reigning 100m world champion Sha’Carri Richardson was arrested last Sunday at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport on a fourth-degree domestic violence offense, according to a police report obtained by the Associated Press. The 25-year-old sprinter was booked into the South Correctional Entity in Des Moines, Washington, at 6.54pm and released on Monday at 1.13pm.
The incident involved her boyfriend, fellow sprinter Christian Coleman. A Transportation Security Administration supervisor alerted an officer to a disturbance between the pair. Camera footage showed Richardson grabbing Coleman’s backpack and yanking it away, then getting in his way and shoving him into a wall. She also appeared to throw an item, possibly headphones, at him.
According to the police report, Coleman declined to participate further in the investigation and refused to be a victim. USA Track and Field said in a statement: “USATF is aware of the reports and is not commenting on this matter.” Richardson’s agent did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Thursday, Richardson competed in the opening round of the women’s 100m at the US track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon. As the defending world champion, she has an automatic bye to the world championships in Tokyo in September. Richardson won the 100m at the 2023 world championships in Budapest and took silver at the Paris Olympics last summer, also helping the 4x100 relay team to gold.
