Sha'Carri Richardson pushed to 3rd place in the 200m at Shanghai Diamond League 2024

In a surprising turn of events at the 2024 Shanghai Diamond League, Sha'Carri Richardson was left behind to finish in third place.

Richardson competed at the 2024 Shanghai Diamond League held at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Shanghai/Suzhou, China on Saturday, April 27, 2024. The 2023 World Champion was defeated by Great Britain's Darlly Neita and fellow teammate Anvia Battle in the women's 200m after clocking 22.62 and 22.99 seconds, respectively.

Richardson, who secured third place in the Hungarian capital last year, registered a time of 23.11 seconds in Shanghai. She was followed by Tamara Clark and Mujinga Kambundji, who recorded 23.13 and 23.21, respectively.

The American sprinter made her 2024 season's debut at the Olympic year's first Diamond League at the Egret Stadium in Xiamen, China on April 20, 2024. She competed in the 200m event, securing second place, clocking 22.99 seconds after finishing behind Australia's Torrie Lewis, who registered 22.96 seconds.

Although Richardson fell short of tasting the first-place victory at both editions of the Diamond League, she still stands at the top of the Diamond League Qualifiers Standing after two of six qualification meetings with a total of 13 points. The 24-year-old is followed by Anavia, Clark, and Neita with 12, 11, and 8 points, respectively.

"Once I got on the track I felt like home" - Sha'Carri Richardson on her first race of the 2024 Olympic year

Sha'Carri Richardson of Team United States celebrates winning the Women's 100m Final during the World Athletics Championships 2023 at the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary.

After being absent from multiple races, including the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships, in the Olympic year, Sha'Carri Richardson competed in her first race of the Olympic year at the Xiamen Diamond League in China.

Although the sprinter was defeated by 19-year-old Torrie Lewis, she took delight in returning to the track. During a post-race interview with Wanda Diamond League, she expressed her joy in stepping back on the track.

"Felt really good about it being a season opener," said Richardson. "Kind of late for me in this season to open up so I was a little nervous but once I got on the track I felt like home. So I felt really good with this first performance. I know what I need to work on me and my coach I'm pretty sure by the time I get back to the warm-up area he is already formulating on how to get better for the next race"