World 100m champion sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson was arrested last weekend after an alleged altercation with her boyfriend at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.
The 25-year-old American athlete was taken into custody on Sunday on a fourth-degree domestic violence charge, according to a police report obtained by The Associated Press.
The incident occurred just four days before Richardson competed in the preliminary round of the women’s 100m at the USA Track & Field (USATF) Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
According to the report, a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) supervisor alerted airport police to a disturbance between Richardson and her boyfriend, fellow sprinter Christian Coleman. Surveillance footage reportedly showed Richardson reaching out with her left hand, grabbing Coleman’s backpack, and yanking it away. She then allegedly blocked his path as he tried to walk around her, resulting in Coleman being pushed into a wall.
The report also noted that Richardson appeared to throw an object—possibly a pair of headphones—at Coleman during the altercation.
When questioned by authorities, Coleman declined to press charges or further participate in the investigation, stating he did not wish to be considered a victim.
Richardson was booked into the South Correctional Entity (SCORE) facility in Des Moines, Washington, at 6:54 p.m. on Sunday. She was released the following day at 1:13 p.m.
USA Track & Field (USATF) acknowledged the incident but declined to comment further, stating, “USATF is aware of the reports and is not commenting on this matter.”
As the reigning world champion, Richardson holds an automatic entry to the World Championships set to take place this September in Tokyo. Photo by Erik van Leeuwen, Wikimedia commons.
