Who could have known what Sha'Carri Richardson was thinking during that semifinal on Monday, that race nearly passing her by, a potential date with destiny almost vanishing before her eyes. Her moment with history had almost been a what-if. 

But she was here, she had found a way into the final at the World Championships, and whether she believed Lane 9 was a bad beat or not, Richardson didn't let it distract her when the gun went off. 

No, in fact, Richardson did nothing of the sort, as the U.S. champion flew out of the blocks with a 0.156 reaction time and worked with precision through her phases, finally pulling away late in the race past Shericka Jackson and captured her first World title in 10.65 seconds inside the National Athletics Centre in Budapest, Hungary. 

Richardson had done it, and she couldn't believe it. 

She wore that feeling on her face, a mixture of joy and shock, and held it for a good deal of time, then finally grabbed the U.S. flag and draped it around her shoulder. Her performance was a new World Championship record. 

She was also now the fastest women in the world.

SPEECHLESS

Sha'Carri Richardson stunned the field to win the women's 100m world title in 10.65!

That ranks top 5 all-time in event history and a champs record 😳 #WorldAthleticsChamps

🥈 Jackson 🇯🇲 - 10.72
🥉 Fraser-Pryce 🇯🇲 - 10.77

📸 Getty Images pic.twitter.com/qJGF3zw1G7

— FloTrack (@FloTrack) August 21, 2023

It almost didn't happen after Richardson got out late from the blocks in the semifinal and could only manage a third-place finish in heat 2, outside the auto-qualifier. But she had run 10.84, still fast enough even when she wasn't at her best.  

Richardson's rise and then fall and her superstar reawakening this year has been the stuff of legend, with the culmination of that World 100 meter title on Monday in a time that ties her in U.S. history with Marion Jones, who ran 10.67 at altitude in 1998. 

Only Florence Griffith-Joyner (10.61) and Carmelita Jeter (10.64) have been faster in history. 

Richardson beat Jackson by seven-hundredths of a second, the Jamaican following in 10.72. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the defending World Champion once the rival to Richardson who smirked at her in 2021 after Richardson finished eighth in the 100m at the Prefontaine Classic, was third in 10.77 seconds. 

Richardson's teammates, Brittany Brown and Tamari Davis, finished seventh and ninth, respectively, in 10.97 and 11.03. 

The performance only further-cemented the biggest star in track and field right now. 

Richardson, a 2016 graduate of Dallas Carter High School, was an NCAA champion at LSU and claimed the U.S. title in July.