On Your Mark: Sha'Carri Richardson to Race 100m Tokyo Olympic Medalists This Weekend

Image Source: Getty / Patrick Smith

Sha'Carri Richardson is set to compete in the 100m at Aug. 21's Prefontaine Classic, where all three Tokyo Olympic medalists from that event — Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Shericka Jackson — will also race. The meet is on the Wanda Diamond League circuit and marks Richardson's return since a positive THC drug test and subsequent one-month suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency made her miss the Tokyo Games' 100m final. This devastated much of the sports world and beyond and prompted a discussion around athlete marijuana use.

"Sha'Carri is focussed on running a good race since she last competed at the US Olympic Trials," Richardson's agent, Renaldo Nehemiah, told The Wall Street Journal. It was at those Trials where she topped the US 100m sprint field and showcased memorable performances. "She will be focussed on executing her race to the best of her ability regardless of who is in the race," Nehemiah added.

Richardson's personal best is 10.72, which she ran at the Miramar Invitational back in April and dubbed her the sixth-fastest woman in 100m history, while Thompson-Herah's is 10.61, a time she ran at the Tokyo Games 100m final that set an Olympic record and clinched her gold medal. It also made her the second-fastest woman sprinter in event history. Fraser-Pryce, who won silver in Tokyo, has a personal best 10.63. Jackson, the Tokyo bronze medalist, has a 100m PR of 10.76, set at the Olympics.

Richardson is also on the start list for the 200m dash this weekend. "I'm looking forward to running fast and putting on a show," she said in a statement when news of her Prefontaine Classic appearance was first announced in July, according to Reuters. Sha'Carri is back!

Hold up wait a minute, y'all thought I was finished 😈😈😈 https://t.co/MLrdwzhrM3

— Sha'Carri Richardson (@itskerrii) August 12, 2021