Sha’Carri Richardson’s 2025 season opener at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo was highly anticipated. After a breakout 2023 and consistent form through 2024, fans expected her to make a statement in her return to the track. All eyes were on the reigning 100m world champion to dominate the field and set the tone for the season ahead. But when the gun went off, it wasn’t Richardson on line first—it was Bree Rizzo.
In what came as a shocker, Australian sprinter Bree Rizzo stole the spotlight with an 11.38-second finish. And for Sha’Carri? Well, Richardson settled for fourth at 11.47 seconds.
The Aussie athlete has already made history by becoming the first Australian woman in 24 years to qualify for the Olympic 100m semi-finals in first place. In her opening heat, Rizzo clocked a season’s best time of 11.26 seconds, securing the third and final automatic qualifying spot. 2025 has been going on phenomenally for her, she achieved a historic victory in the 2025 Stawell Gift in April.
Bree Rizzo clocks a time of 11.38s (-0.9) to win the women’s 100m at the Tokyo Golden Grand Prix!
Sha’carri Richardson was 4th in 11.47s.pic.twitter.com/a9iOPnOzMH
— Track & Field Gazette (@TrackGazette) May 18, 2025
She won the 120m women’s race from scratch in a personal best time of 13.52 seconds. This remarkable feat made her only the second woman to win the prestigious race from scratch, following Melissa Breen’s achievement in 2012. Interestingly, her husband, Matt Rizzo, won the men’s Stawell Gift in 2017, making them the first married couple to both claim the prestigious title. The woman has been a key part of the Australian track and field team. At the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, she ran a personal best of 11.29 seconds in the 100m heats but did not advance.
That same year, she competed in both the 100m and 4x100m relay at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. In 2023, she returned to the World Championships in Budapest, clocking 11.43 seconds in the 100m heats. Next was the 2024 World Athletics Relays in Nassau. Rizzo was also a part of the Australian women’s 4x100m team that finished fifth in the final with a time of 43.02 seconds.
This story is developing…
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