USA's Sha'Carri Richardson, Women's Olympics Track and Field 100m Qualifying Results

Sha'Carri Richardson marked a time of 10.94 seconds in her Olympic debut to qualify for the women's 100-meter semifinals on Friday.

The reigning world champion posted the third-fastest time of the day in Friday's preliminary heat.

Richardson pulled ahead about a third of the way through the race and held her lead all the way to the finish line to claim the win.

Next up is the semifinal, where Richardson could win the chance to be one of the eight women racing for gold in the 100m final on Saturday.

The preliminary heat victory marked the beginning of a redemption run for the two-time world champion after missing out on the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

Richardson will surely be a favorite in Saturday's semifinal. She ran a 10.71-second race in Olympic qualifiers and marked one of the fastest races in women's 100m history with a 10.65-second dash at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest.

In a later heat, Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who has said the 2024 Paris Games will be her fifth and final Olympics, qualified for the semifinals with a 10.92-second sprint.

Fraser-Pryce came in just 0.05 seconds behind heat winner Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, the Ivorian sprinter and fastest woman in Africa who led the preliminary field with a time of 10.87 seconds. Both women will now race for a spot in the finals.

The top three finishers in each of the eight heats advanced. Among the runners left, the next three fastest also moved on to the semifinal.

British sprinter Daryll Neita tied Fraser-Pryce for the second-fastest time of the day with a 10.92-second run.

Other notable names advancing included American sprinter Melissa Jefferson, Saint Lucia's Julien Alfred and Canadian Audrey Leduc.

The full list of semifinal qualifiers and their preliminary heat times is below, h/t NBCOlympics.com:

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1. Marie-Josée Ta Lou-Smith, Ivory Coast (10.87)
2. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Jamaica (10.92)
3. Daryll Neita, Great Britain (10.92)
4. Sha'Carri Richardson, United States (10.94)
5. Julien Alfred, Saint Lucia (10.95)
6. Audrey Leduc, Canada (10.95)
7. Melissa Jefferson, United States (10.96)
8. Ewa Swoboda, Poland (10.99)
9. Tia Clayton, Jamaica (11.00)
10. Dina Asher-Smith, Great Britain (11.01)
11. Gina Bass, Gambia (11.01)
12. Mujinga Kambundji, Switzerland (11.05)
13. Gina Luckenkemper, Germany (11.08)
14. Zoe Hobbs, New Zealand (11.08)
15. Imani Lansiquot, Great Britain (11.10)
16. Rani Rosius, Belgium (11.10)
17. Boglarka Takacs, Hungary (11.10)
18. Karolina Manasova, Czechia (11.11)
19. Gladymar Torres, Puerto Rico (11.12)
20. Patrizia Van Der Weken, Luxembourg (11.14)
21. Terry Twanisha, United States (11.15)
22. Shashalee Forbes, Jamaica (11.19)
23. Delphine Nkansa, Belgium (11.20)
24. Rosemary Chukwuma, Nigeria (11.26)
25. Bree Masters, Australia (11.26)
26. Leah Bertrand, Trinidad and Tobago (11.27)
27. Zaynab Dosso, Italy (11.30)

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Richardson is hoping to become the first American since Gail Devers in 1996 to hold a gold medal in the event. Her journey to the final will be aired on NBC Saturday at 1:50 p.m. ET.