EUGENE, Ore. — The first sprint secured Sha'Carri Richardson's place at the Tokyo Olympics.

The second one might have been even sweeter.

After winning the 100-meter final at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials Saturday with a time of 10.86 seconds, yelling in celebration as she crossed the finish line, Richardson took off into the stands. She scaled the concrete steps at Hayward Field and rounded the corner to Section 119, where her grandmother, Betty Harp, was waiting and smiling.

Then Richardson, one of the fastest American women ever, celebrated in the only way that felt right to her in the moment. She gave her grandmother a hug.

"My grandmother is my heart. My grandmother is my superwoman," Richardson said.

"Honestly, that was one of my biggest goals in life – to have her see me compete in one of the highest levels, and be successful."

Richardson, 21, said Harp has been a constant presence in her life, from her childhood in Dallas to her brief college stint at LSU, when she won a national title. The sprinter has fond memories of the time they spent cooking together, or just watching TV shows. She was always there, Richardson said.

"From Day 1 up until now," she explained, "always being in my corner, no matter what I did, no matter if it was good, no matter if it was bad."

Earlier, in a post-race interview with NBC, Richardson said that her family "has kept me grounded." She also revealed that her biological mother recently died. She declined to go into details about their relationship with reporters in a news conference.

"That's not anything I want to talk about, so I'm not going to get too much into details," she said. "... But what I will say is I am grateful for her giving me life, bringing me into this world."

Richardson, who also ran a wind-aided 10.64 in the semifinals, will be joined in Tokyo by a pair of other Olympic newcomers: Javianne Oliver and Teahna Daniels, who finished second and third, respectively.

The U.S. has not won Olympic gold in the women's 100 since 1996, when Gail Devers claimed her second in a row. But the 5-foot-1 Richardson is without question the country's next best shot.

She has burst onto the international stage this year with a combination of blistering times and a fiery personality, running three of the six fastest times in the world this year prior to this weekend, including a 10.72 in April. Her semifinal performance was illustrative of the flair she brings to the track; she won her heat by 0.2 seconds, and pointed at the clock as she crossed the finish line.

Because of her style, Richardson has drawn comparisons to world-record holder Florence Griffith Joyner. The gold-medal hopeful regularly draws attention for her long nails and ever-changing hair color. (This weekend, it's been bright orange.)

"My girlfriend actually picked my color," Richardson said Friday. "She said it like spoke to her, the fact that it was just so loud and vibrant, and that’s who I am."

At just 21, Richardson is the youngest of Team USA's three 100-meter qualifiers and figures to be one of the youngest medal threats in the Olympic field. Her primary rival in Tokyo will likely be Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who will turn 35 in December.

When asked about her age, Richardson said she uses it as "an intimidating factor."

"If you’ve been doing this and I step on the scene, I’m letting you know I respect you for you putting on for our sport," she said. "But at the end day, when we get on this line, what you’ve been doing, you have to do that against me."

A devastating flinch

As Richardson completed her victory lap, one of her fellow competitors was still processing the series of events she had just endured.

Aleia Hobbs, who has run the 13th fastest time in the world this year at 100 meters, thought her Olympic dreams died when she flinched in the blocks at the start of her semifinal heat, a false start. She was disqualified and devastated, crumpling to the ground in the corner of the track.

Then, just before the final, Hobbs was told she would be allowed to run after all.

She finished seventh with a time of 11.20 seconds.

"It was hard. It was so hard," the 25-year-old said in a teary news conference after the race. "I broke all the way down. Like completely. So I tried to get myself back up. It was hard, but I tried."

Hobbs said she hadn't seen a video replay of the start in her semifinal heat. And she said she didn't know why she was disqualified, though she thought her coach or agent might.

USA Track & Field said in a statement that Hobbs had appealed the penalty to the governing body's jury of appeals, which ruled in her favor and reinstated her for the final.

"When they told me I could (run), it was just so last-minute," Hobbs said. "I just went out there and did what I could do."

Allman wins women’s discus

In the women's discus qualifying round Friday, Valarie Allman set both a U.S. Olympic trials and stadium record with a throw of 229 feet, 8 inches (70.01 meters). And in Saturday’s final round, the Stanford product won the event.

Allman captured first place with a mark of 229 feet, 5 inches (69.92 meters) to qualify for her first Olympics. The 26-year-old is the owner of the women’s discus American record. She is currently the No. 2-ranked discus thrower in the world.

Contributing: Tyler Dragon

Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on Twitter @Tom_Schad.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Sha'Carri Richardson dominates at U.S. Olympic track and field trials