Paris, France - Sha'Carri Richardson launched her bid for Olympic redemption with a comfortable victory in the opening heats of the women's 100 meters at the Stade de France on Friday.

The reigning world champion – aiming to become the first American since Gail Devers in 1996 to win Olympic 100m gold – sailed through her heat in 10.94sec.

The 24-year-old Texan burst out of the blocks smoothly and was quickly into her stride before pulling away early on and then shutting it down well before the finish line in a supremely confident first-ever race in an Olympic Games.

"To be at the Olympics is a phenomenal feeling," Richardson told US broadcaster NBC after her impressive debut.

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"To be an athlete here, competing with the energy, with a great appreciation for the track and field, it gives great support to be a track and field athlete.

"So I'm super excited to compete on the Olympic stage."

Richardson is competing in Paris three years after her dreams of Olympic gold in Tokyo were wrecked by a positive test for marijuana following her victory at US trials.

However, the flamboyant track star roared back to the pinnacle of her sport with a surprise victory at last year's World Championships in Budapest and is considered the hot favorite for her event in Paris.

Richardson will return for Saturday's semi-finals where she will be aiming to reach the final later in the day to claim one of the first high-profile golds of the athletics competition.