Sha’Carri Richardson served notice that she might be ready to beat the best in the world in 2023 when she ran a world-leading 10.76 to win the 100m dash against a stacked field at the season-opening Diamond League meeting on Friday.

In the field that included Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the 2022 200m World Champion, Dina Asher Smith, Abby Steiner and Melissa Jefferson, Richardson started well and was on Jackson’s shoulder mid-way the race before pulling away to eclipse Jackson’s previous world lead of 10.82.

“I'm so blessed and thankful, I feel at peace,” said Richardson, who broke the previous meet record of 10.80 held by Tori Bowie, who died earlier this week.

“All I do is the best I do and I'm excited to do it. Like I said it before, I had to be kicked out from another 100m race, so I had to do my best no matter what. Peace, love and life.”

The Jamaican finished second in 10.85 while Asher Smith ran season-best 10.98 for third place.

Earlier, Marileidy Paulino of the Dominican Republic, continued her impressive from last season when she won silver at the 2022 World Championships, winning the 400m in 50.51 ahead of American Shamier Little, who ran 50.84.

Poland’s Natalia Kaczmarek of Poland ran a season best 51.64 for third place.

World Championship bronze medallist Sada Williams (52.05) and Jamaicans Candice McLeod (53.43) and Stephenie-Ann McPherson (52.93 SB) were fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.

By her usually high standards Jasmine Camacho-Quinn wasn’t at her best last season but on Friday, she looked like she is getting back to her best while winning the 100m hurdles in a season-best 12.48. The USA’s Alaysha Johnson also ran a season-best of 12.66 for second place with 2019 World Champion Nia Ali finishing third in 12.69.

Jamaica’s Megan Tapper ran a season-best 12.76 for fourth.

In the 400m hurdles, Rai Benjamin held off a fast-finishing CJ Allen to win in 47.78. Allen ran a season-best 47.93 while Wilfried Happio of France finished third in 49.12.

The top seven athletes all set season bests in the men’s javelin but India’s Neeraj Chopra was the best of them all throwing a world-leading 88.67m.

Jakub Vadlejch was second with his effort of 88.63m. World Champion Anderson Peters of Grenada was third with an effort of 85.88m.

Fred Kerley surged late to win the 200m in 19.92, a season’s best. Kenny Bednarek of the USA was second in 20.11 with Canada’s Aaron Brown of Canada taking the final podium spot with 20.20.

Dina Asher-Smith is relishing the opportunity to compete in a field featuring reigning world 200 metres champion Shericka Jackson when the Diamond League begins in Doha on Friday.

Asher-Smith will line up in a 100m field featuring some of the world’s best during the opener in Qatar, after improving her British 60m record in an unbeaten indoor season.

The 27-year-old took her time to 7.03 seconds ahead of competing in Doha.

“I’m very much a competitor so I love challenging races,” said Asher-Smith. “I don’t think you improve without running against the best in the world.

“There are so many women in the sprints running fantastic times.

“Almost every Diamond League for the past three or four seasons has been super-fast with loads of depth in each race. I’m very much used to it.”

Asher-Smith became the first British woman to win a major global sprint title when she won in the 200m in Doha in 2019.

There is the prospect in Qatar of elite athletes facing off in one-on-one races.

The men’s world 100m champion Fred Kerley has said on social media that he hopes to get the chance to go up against Olympic gold medallist Lamont Marcell Jacobs.

Asked who she would like to face given the opportunity, Asher-Smith said Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce would be her ideal opponent.

She was runner-up to the Jamaican over 100m at the 2019 World Championship.

“I really like racing Shelly,” she said. ”She is an incredible athlete and an incredible competitor.

“I really enjoy racing against her, mainly because I really like her race model compared to mine. It’s like a training exercise.”

200m World champions Shericka Jackson and Dina Asher-Smith as well as American Sha’Carri Richardson are set to clash in a loaded field assembled for the Women’s 100m at the Doha Diamond League scheduled for May 5.

Jackson, the reigning World champion in the half-lap event, enters this race on the back of a world-leading 10.82 which she did to win at Velocity Fest 13 at the National Stadium in Kingston on April 22. She famously became the fastest woman alive in the 200m when she ran 21.45 to win that 200m title in Eugene. She also ran a personal best 10.71 for silver in the 100m.

Asher-Smith, who took top spot in the 200m at the 2019 World Championships in Doha, will be competing in her first outdoor race of the season. In February, she set a new British record 7.03 on her way to winning the 60m at the Birmingham World Indoor Tour Final.

Also in the field will be American Sha’Carri Richardson, who ran wind-aided times of 10.75 and 10.57 at the Miramar Invitational on April 8.

The line-up is completed by Zoe Hobbs, Abby Steiner, Melissa Jefferson, Teahna Daniels and Twanisha Terry.

2020 Olympic 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson is pleased with her performance in her season-opening 200m race, at the Doha Diamond League, at the Suhaim bin Hamad Stadium on Friday.

Jackson, also a global medalist in the 400m at the 2015 and 2019 World Championships and the 2016 Olympics, ran 22.07 to finish second behind American Olympic medalist Gabby Thomas who ran a meet record 21.98 for victory. British 2019 World Champion Dina Asher-Smith was third in 22.37.

“I’m definitely happy,” said Jackson after the race.

“I just ran 22.07 so I’m super excited, healthy and looking forward to the rest of the season,” she added.

It was a windy day at the track, but Jackson says it didn’t affect her race plan.

“My focus was to run the curve as hard as I could and I did that and I’m just happy. The wind never affected me,” she said.

Jackson’s next appearance will come in the Women’s 100m at the Muller Birmingham Diamond League on May 21^st.

“Next week I have the Birmingham Diamond League so I’m just taking it one race at a time,” she said.

After running a massive personal best 60m time indoors and starting her outdoor season with a couple of 400m races, Tokyo Olympics 100m bronze medallist Shericka Jackson has confirmed that she is leaning towards the 100/200m double again this season.

Jackson, 27, a World Championships and Olympics 400m bronze medallist experienced a successful step down to the blue ribbon sprint last season, running personal bests of 10.76 and 21.81 in the 100m and 200m, respectively. The times, along with her 49.47 personal best in the 400m, have made her the second best active combination sprinter and fifth all-time.

Only Marita Koch, Marion Jones, Florence Griffith-Joyner, who no longer compete and Bahamian wonder girl Shaunae Miller-Uibo rank ahead of her.

Jackson missed out on a possible Olympic medal in the 200m in Tokyo last year when she mistimed her run during the preliminary round and failed to advance. However, she will have a second crack at a global 200m medal at the World Championships in Oregon this summer, should all go well at the National Championships in Kingston next month.

“I am definitely doubling this year,” Jackson said after running 11-flat in her first 100m final this season at the JAAA/SDF Jubilee meet last weekend. The time was run into a headwind of -1.8m/s, which makes her time about 10.87 without the influence of the wind.

“I think coach and I will lean more to the 1-2 than the 400 but we will see come trials.”

Jackson, who will be competing against a stacked 200m field that includes Tokyo Olympic bronze medallist Gabby Thomas and British star Dina Asher-Smith at the Doha Diamond League meeting on Friday, believes running a personal best indoors has helped her become a better sprinter.

“It has helped me good. I am coming from a 7.31 to a 7004, it was a really good accomplishment and I am healthy and I’m ready,” she said.

 Reigning Olympic 100m champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, will miss this weekend’s Doha Diamond League meet, despite being originally listed as a part of the line-up.

According to an announcement made by organisers last week, Thompson-Herah was expected to clash with compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Sha’Carri Richardson, and Marie-Josee Ta over the 100m distance.

However, earlier this week, when the start list was announced the athlete’s name was nowhere to be seen.  It was a similar situation last weekend, where weeks before, many had expected the athlete to make her season debut at the Gateshead Diamond League meet against Richardson and Fraser-Pryce.

The early season, high stakes Gateshead clash was won by Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, prior to the race Richardson had clocked the season’s fastest time with 10.72.  Thompson-Herah is the second-fastest woman in the world this year with her time of 10.78 seconds.

Fraser-Pryce, the Doha 2019 world champion, ran the 100m for the first time in Gateshead, where she finished fourth in 11.51.  Thompson-Herah, who has a best of 10.70, the same as Fraser-Pryce and Richardson (10.72) are three of the fast women in history over the distance having clocked the joint-fourth and sixth fastest times over the distance.