Sha’Carri Richardson had all eyes on her as she headed into the Nike Prefontaine Classic and was determined to make her mark against the Jamaican Olympic Champions. However, she was obliterated in the race by every participant, placing last in a nine-woman race. 

Richardson was the subject of criticism and mockery on social media. The track star, who placed first in the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon with a timing of 10.86 seconds earlier this year, was a shadow of her form. 

Starting off poorly from the blocks, Richardson failed to hit top speed and clocked a poor timing of 11.14 seconds. Elaine Thompson-Herah on the other end finished the race with a record timing of 10.54 seconds. 

This insane timing saw her move closer than ever to Florence Joyner’s 100m world record of 10.49 seconds. She was followed by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson to complete a Jamaican clean sweep in the same podium order as it was in Tokyo. 

Looking at the massive distance between the Jamaicans and herself, Sha’Carri Richardson did not seem phased and assured fans she was going to be back better than ever. In a recent tweet, Richardson highlighted her optimism and has already started to work her way back.

Sha’Carri Richardson assured fans of her comeback next year

The hours since the race have been hard on the American as constant social media trolling has taken over. Many compared Sha’Carri to FloJo herself and this race had a lot of hype around it.

Unfortunately, Richardson could not replicate her previous performances and fell drastically short of any kind of challenge to the Jamaicans. Regardless, she is confident of herself and stressed that one race does not define her talent. 

“This is one race, I’m not done. You know what I’m capable of,” Richardson said after the race. “Count me out if you want to. Talk all the shit you want. Because I’m here to stay. I’m not done. I’m the sixth fastest woman in this game ever and can’t nobody ever take that from me.”

Sha’Carri Richardson did not have the ending to the season she had hoped for, but will undoubtedly return faster next year. The World Championships will have everything to work for, and that will be the next big clash between these talented set of runners.

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