Benjamin Richardson (sprinter)

Last updated

Benjamin Richardson
Athletes Sud Africains Championnats d'Afrique d'athletisme 2024 Douala 20.jpg
Richardson in 2024
Personal information
NationalitySouth African
Born (2003-12-19) 19 December 2003 (age 21)
Pretoria, South Africa
Height6 ft 3 in (1.90 m) [1]
Sport
Sport Athletics
EventSprint
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)100m: 9.86 (La Chaux-de-Fonds, 2024)
200m 19.99 (La Chaux-de-Fonds, 2024)
Medal record
Men's athletics
Representing Flag of South Africa.svg  South Africa
African Championships
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2024 Douala 100 m
World U20 Championships
Gold medal icon (G initial).svg 2021 Nairobi 4 × 100 m relay
Silver medal icon (S initial).svg 2021 Nairobi 100 m
Bronze medal icon (B initial).svg 2022 Cali 100 m

Benjamin Richardson (born 19 December 2003) is a South African track and field athlete who competes as a sprinter. He was born in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga. [2]

Contents

Early life

Richardson attended Nelspruit Primary School, TuksSport High School, and studied at the University of Pretoria in Pretoria. [3] [4] [5]

Career

In 2021, he won the silver medal in the 100 metres at the 2021 World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya. [6] At the same competition he won gold as part of the South African 4 × 100 m relay team. With Mihlali Xhotyeni, Sinesipho Dambile, Letlhogonolo Moleyane, the relay team broke the world U20 record, running 38.51 seconds. [7]

In April 2022, he lowered his personal best over 100 metres to 10.08, Gaborone. [5] In August 2022, he won the bronze medal in the 100 metres at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia. [8]

In August 2023, he was the youngest member of the South African team selected for the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest. [9]

He ran as part of the South African 4 × 100 m relay team which qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics at the 2024 World Relays Championships in Nassau, Bahamas. [10] In June 2024, he won bronze in the 100 metres at the African Championships in Cameroon. [11] He set a new 100m personal best of 9.86 seconds and a new 200m personal best of 19.99 seconds in La Chaux-de-Fonds in July 2024. [12]

He was selected for the South African team for the 2024 Olympic Games. [13] He competed in the 100 metres at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where he reached the semi-finals. [14] Unfortunately, in the Paris 2024 200m heats, Richardson pulled his hamstring [15] and had to walk the race of the race, finishing over 30 seconds slower than his heatmates, [16] then withdraw from the repechage round [15] and the rest of the 2024 Olympics. [17]

Statistics

Grand Slam Track results [18]
SlamRace groupEventPl.TimePrize money
2025 Miami Slam Short sprints100 m6th9.99US$10,000
200 m7th20.62

References

  1. "Benjamin Richardson". Eurosport. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  2. "Benjamin Richardson". World Athletics. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  3. Manaleng, Palesa (20 August 2021). "SA'S BENJAMIN RICHARDSON SPRINTS TO SILVER AT U20 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS". ewn.co.za. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  4. Baloyi, Charles (1 September 2021). "Richardson shifts focus to books after bagging two medals". Sowetanlive.co.za. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  5. 1 2 "#TuksAthletics: Tuks sprinter Benjamin Richardson keeps on winning South African titles and gives credit to his coach, Paul Gorries | University of Pretoria". UP News. Retrieved 13 May 2022.
  6. "Sprinter Benjamin Richardson Claims 2nd Medal WA U20 Champs". showme.co.za. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  7. "'Individually we are all fast' – Benjamin Richardson, after SA Under-20s smash world relay record". iol.co.za. 23 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  8. Omogbeja, Omi (3 August 2023). "Cali22: Letsile Tebogo Jogs 9.91 World U20 Record On Way To 100m Gold".
  9. Botton, Wesley (16 August 2023). "Teenage sprint sensation Benji Richardson targets World Champs medal". Citizen.co.za. Retrieved 19 August 2023.
  10. "Men 4x100m Results - World Athletics Relays Championships 2024". Watch Athletics. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  11. "Brume sails to fourth title as Bass Bittaye and Moraa win at African Championships in Douala". World Athletics. 24 June 2024. Retrieved 27 June 2024.
  12. "Femke Bol shatters 400m hurdles European record with 50.95 at Resisprint in La Chaux-de-Fonds". Watch Athletics. 14 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  13. "More SA athletes for Paris Olympics announced". SuperSport. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
  14. "Men's 100 Metres - Paris Olympic Games 2024 Athletics". Watch Athletics. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  15. 1 2 Abiola, Raphael (6 August 2024). "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  16. "Men's 200m - Round 1 - Heat 3/6 results" (PDF). Olympics. 5 August 2024. Retrieved 5 August 2024.
  17. Isaacson, David (7 August 2024). "Benjamin Richardson ruled out of Olympics in blow to 4x100m relay". The Sowetan. Retrieved 9 August 2024.
  18. "Grand Slam Track Results". Grand Slam Track . Retrieved 5 April 2025.