World 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson arrested on alleged domestic violence charge

The sprinter was detained last week, shortly before making an appearance at the US national championships in Oregon

The sprinter was arrested shortly before the start of US national championships (Getty Images)

Reigning 100m world champion Sha'Carri Richardson was arrested last week for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend at the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.

Police attended reports of an altercation at the airport and Richardson was charged on Sunday with fourth degree domestic violence, according to the police report obtained by The Associated Press (AP).

The sprinter was due to catch a flight to attend the US track and field championships in Eugene, Oregon.

“USATF is aware of the reports and is not commenting on this matter,” USA Track and Field said in a statement. Richardson's agent did not immediately reply to an email request for comment by AP.

The police report said an officer at the airport was notified by a Transportation Security Administration supervisor of a disturbance between Richardson and her boyfriend, sprinter Christian Coleman, who was also scheduled to compete at the championships.

The report said Richardson was detained on Sunday 27 July and released the following day.

In the police report, the officer said: “I was told Coleman did not want to participate any further in the investigation and declined to be a victim.”

On Thursday, Richardson ran in the opening round of the women’s 100m at the US national championships before withdrawing from the semi-finals. She has an automatic bye to the 100m at the world championships in September in Tokyo as the defending champion. She is still scheduled to compete in the 200m in Eugene, according to AFP.

Coleman also ran in the 100m heats at the US championships, and finished fifth in Saturday’s final.

Richardson won the 100m at the 2023 world championships in Budapest and took silver at the Paris Games last summer. She also helped the 4x100m relay team to an Olympic gold.

Additional reporting by Associated Press and Reuters