Sha’Carri Richardson Is On the Comeback Trail: Places Second Behind Elaine Thompson-Herah at Prefontaine Classic

Last weekend saw two-time and reigning Olympic 100m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah score a victory against her fellow Jamaican teammate, Shericka Jackson, and American foe, Sha’Carri Richardson.

According to Olympics.com, Thompson-Herah achieved a 10.79 clocked time to win the race, with Richardson barely crossing the line ahead of Jackson at the finish as both sprinters came in at 10.92.

The competition took place at the historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, for the first time since 2018. The venue is also the location for the upcoming World Athletics Championships Oregon22 taking place in July.

Although Richardson came in second place, it puts her back on track to lead her way back to being mentioned amongst the sport’s fastest sprinters. She had a rough year since being disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics where she was expected to come out on top in multiple races.

Richardson failed a drug test at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials last year in late June. The sprinter tested positive for marijuana use and her race results were then invalidated.

Last week, she came out on top at the 2022 Duval County Challenge American Track League with a time of 11.27 seconds. Richardson beat that time in this latest race and went up against the fastest woman in the world in Thompson-Herah.

It was definitely a better showing than the last time she went up against Thompson-Herah last year in August. Thompson-Herah took first place in the Diamond League 2021 Prefontaine Classic on Saturday, Aug. 21, when she clocked a time of 10.54. Richardson, who expected to make it a great competition, disappointed fans when she came in ninth in the 100m race.

At last year’s Olympics, the 29-year-old Thompson-Herah clocked in at 10.61 seconds, breaking the long-held Olympic record of Florence Griffith-Joyner. She had the record set at a time of 10.62 when she competed at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.