Richardson gets her chance to race Jamaican Olympic medalists Aug. 21
Fred Jeter | 8/19/2021, 6 p.m.
Sha’Carri Richardson made a name for herself earlier this summer at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore.
Now she’ll try and do it again.
The fast and flashy Richardson won the U.S. Olympic Trials 100-meter dash in 10.86 seconds but was denied the opportunity to compete in the Tokyo Olympics due to a positive marijuana test.
This Saturday, Aug. 21, Richardson will get her much deserved chance to run with the fastest women in the world. Her competition in the Prefontaine Classic will include three Jamaican women who finished first, second and third in Tokyo.
Elaine Thompson-Herah won Olympic gold in the event at 10.62, followed by fellow Jamaicans Shelly- Ann Fraser-Pryce, 10.74, and Shericka Jackson, 10.76. Richardson ran a 10.76 in the semifinals at the Olympic Trials.
The men’s 100 meters at the Prefontaine Classic is shaping up as a world-class affair, too, with Americans Trayvon Bromell, Fred Kerley, Ronnie Baker and Justin Gatlin rac- ing the likes of Canadian Andre De Grasse and Akani Simbine of South Africa.
The women’s 100 meter race is set for 4:51 p.m. Eastern time, with the men at 4:58 p.m.
Bromell, the U.S. Olympic Trials champ, had the world’s fastest 100 time heading to the Olympics but lost his rhythm in Tokyo and failed to reach the finals.
