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Sha'Carri Richardson Finishes in Last Place in Return to Track As Elaine Thompson-Herah Wins Again
The Tokyo Olympics answered the question of who the fastest woman in the world is. Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica took home three gold medals in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay and broke Florence Griffith Joyner’s 100m Olympic record in the process. But the one feat she didn’t accomplish in Tokyo was beating American Sha’Carri Richardson. She did just that Saturday. Not only did Thompson-Herah easily win the race, she ran the second fastest 100m race in history. The lingering question in the wake of the women’s 100-meter final at the Tokyo Olympics was how Sha’Carri Richardson’s presence would have altered the outcome. Could America’s fastest woman have broken up Jamaica’s 1-2-3 sweep if she were permitted to run? Might Richardson even have challenged gold medalist Elaine Thompson-Herah, who came as close to Florence Griffith Joyner’s world record as anyone has in 33 years? Richardson’s underwhelming return to the track at Saturday's Prefontaine Classic essentially poured a bucket of ice water on that simmering debate. In her first race since the marijuana suspension that robbed her of the chance to compete in Tokyo, Richardson finished last, not only behind all three Jamaican medalists but also behind the five other competitors. Thompson-Herah won the women's 100 in a personal-best 10.54 seconds, which was .05 seconds off FloJo's record of 10.49. She pulled away from countrywomen Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson just like she did in Tokyo three weeks ago. Richardson started sluggishly and continued to lose ground throughout the race. Her time of 11.14 seconds is more than four-tenths of a second shy of what she was running earlier this season. Richardson returns to the track Saturday for the first time since the U.S. Olympic Trials in June. The 21-year-old sprinter was left off the U.S. Olympic roster after she tested positive for marijuana and was handed a 30-day suspension by the U.S. Anti Doping Agency. At the end of the race, Richardson delivered fireworks during a defiant trackside interview with NBC's Lewis Johnson. Still out of breath from the race, Richardson declared her performance "a great return back to the sport" and insisted she was "not upset at myself at all." "This is one race," Richardson continued. "I'm not done. You know what I'm capable of. Count me out if you want to. Talk all the s— you want. Because I'm here to stay. I'm not done. I'm the sixth fastest woman in this game ever. Can't nobody ever take that from me."