Olympic gold medalist Christian Coleman was arrested Thursday on charges of resisting arrest and possession of drug paraphernalia after intervening in a high-speed traffic stop of his girlfriend, fellow track star Sha’Carri Richardson, according to law enforcement records via TMZ Sports.
Coleman, 29, approached Orange County Sheriff’s deputies after they pulled over Richardson for allegedly driving 104 mph on State Road 429, tailgating and weaving through traffic, officials said. Richardson, 25, was arrested on a charge of dangerous excessive speeding under Florida’s super speeder law, with bond set at $500.
Deputies reported that a black Jeep driven by Coleman pulled up to the scene shortly after the stop. Coleman exited the vehicle and asked officers what was happening, identifying himself as Richardson’s boyfriend. When asked for identification, Coleman refused, leading to his arrest for resisting an officer without violence.
A subsequent search of Coleman’s Jeep uncovered a glass smoking device in the center console, which appeared used and contained a small amount of green leafy material suspected to be cannabis, according to the arrest report. He faced an additional misdemeanor charge for possession of drug paraphernalia.
Fellow sprinter Twanisha Terry also arrived at the scene to check on Richardson but received only a ticket for stopping on a limited-access highway and was allowed to leave.
The incident occurred around noon Thursday near Winter Garden, about 15 miles west of Orlando. No injuries were reported, and both Coleman and Richardson were booked into Orange County Jail.
Coleman and Richardson, both U.S. track and field athletes, have been in a relationship marked by public incidents. Last July, Richardson was arrested at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport following a verbal altercation with Coleman, during which she allegedly pushed him and threw headphones at him. Charges in that case were later dropped after Coleman declined to cooperate with investigators.
Richardson, a Dallas native who won gold in the 4×100-meter relay at the 2024 Paris Olympics, previously faced a one-month suspension in 2021 after testing positive for cannabis, which kept her out of the Tokyo Games. Coleman, a world champion in the 100 meters, has his own history of anti-doping violations, including a two-year ban reduced to 18 months in 2020 for missing drug tests.
Representatives for Coleman and Richardson did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.
