US sprint superstar Sha’Carri Richardson has put a scare through Stawell Gift organisers, just scraping through to the final after easing up late in her semifinal at Central Park.

After easing through her heat to win from the back marker, Richardson had a much tougher time in her semi.

It took her longer to catch up to the field and she only reined in Ballarat runner Halle Martin in the final metres.

Richardson then stood up straight and eased off the pedal while holding her hands out in a shrugging motion as she stopped the clock at 13.522, ultimately pipping Martin by just 0.007 of a second.

She said she had been working on running through the line more with her coach.

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“I keep doing that [easing up],” she told Channel Seven.

“We’re working on that, but running through the line for sure, for sure come finals.”

The 2025 winner and one of only two women to win the Stawell Gift from scratch, Bree Rizzo, said in commentary she was nervous in late stages of the semi.

“My heart skipped a beat,” she said.

“But I think she knows for that final she’s going to have to send it fully.”

If Richardson had not been able to rein in the field it would have been another tough meet for organisers after their handicaps come under scrutiny last year when Australian stars Gout Gout and Lachlan Kennedy both missed last year’s men’s final.