Sha’Carri Richardson, Shericka Jackson On Collision Course For 200M Showdown Friday

American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson and Jamaican 100m bronze medalist Shericka Jackson are on course to meet in the 200m final Friday after winning their heats Wednesday.

Reuters reports the two women will both need to win their semi-final heats Thursday to qualify for the final, set for Friday at the Worlds Athletics Championships in Hungary. The two women could be racing each other for the second time in a week after Richardson won the 100m final Monda,y edging out Jackson.

After winning the 100m final Monday, Richardson said she’s not worried about what others think or feel, adding that she’s representing her and her people.

“[At] the end of the day, I’ve always been with me. God has always been with me, so being on this scale now,” Richardson said following her win. “It’s my time. It’s always been my time, but now it’s my time to actually do it for myself and the people that feel like me, the people that look like me, and the people that know the truth about themselves as well. I represent those people.”

Richardson also beat Jackson in July at the Diamond League meet in Poland in a photo finish. Richardson is seeking to become the first U.S. winner in the 200m race since Allyson Felix in 2009.

The former LSU product is looking to achieve her gold medal dreams at the 2024 Paris Olympics after being banned from the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo after testing positive for cannabis. The Texas-born runner admitted to using the substance to cope with the passing of her biological mother.

This time around, Richardson is focused, as she has yet to lose a race during this year’s qualifying season. Jackson won’t be her only competition as Jamaicans Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won gold and silver,r respectively, in Tokyo, are also expected to qualify for Paris.

The 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games are set to run from July 26 through Aug. 11, and the events will include short and long-distance track and field, basketball, handball, archery, shooting, swimming, gymnastics, fencing, skateboarding, and much more.