Sha’Carri Richardson Will Finally Face World’s Fastest Woman Alive Elaine Thompson-Herah in the Biggest Clash of the Season

Published 05/24/2022, 10:15 AM EDT

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The fastest woman alive, Jamaica’s Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, will compete against USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson at the Prefontaine Classic this weekend. The women’s 100m race will take place in Eugene, Oregon. Just last year, Thompson-Herah almost broke the standing world record in the 100m at the same location.

Richardson, 22, competed against Thompson-Herah at last year’s Prefontaine, held after the Olympics, but finished in last place.

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Sha’Carri Richardson vs Thompson-Herah at the Prefontaine Classic

Sha’Carri Richardson had pulled out of the Kip Keino Classic in Doha just weeks ago, where she was supposed to go up against rival Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Richardson’s season opener was delayed three times as the athlete kept pulling out of races. She finally opened the season, running at the Duval County Challenge in Florida. Here, she gave a disappointing performance and came fourth. 

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With a personal best of 10.72, Richardson would look forward to redeeming herself at Prefontaine. Last year, the rising sprinter won the US Olympics Trials at Hayward Field. Unfortunately, she was banned from competing at the Olympics after testing positive for marijuana. Recently, her mentor Justin Gatlin claimed that she’s been running 10.3s in practice.

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Thompson-Herah, meanwhile, pulled out of the Birmingham Diamond League event, claiming shoulder discomfort. However, the same weekend, she ran a 10.94 seconds in Kingston, winning 100m. Thompson-Herah has the second-fastest record ever for the 100m, 10.54 seconds, just behind Florence-Joyner’s 10.49. The Olympic champion set her season’s best this year at 10.89 seconds at the Golden Games in Walnut back in April.

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Who is competing this weekend?

The two athletes will face off this weekend on a star-studded track. Reigning 200m World Champion, UK’s Dina Asher-Smith, who finished third at last year’s 100m Prefontaine, will be there. She clocked 11.11 seconds just a few days ago in Birmingham, bagging first. Though her time was well off her 10.83 best, the season has only just begun.

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Additionally, veteran sprinter Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, with a personal best of 10.76 seconds, will also run at the event. She placed second in Birmingham, barely losing out to Asher-Smith with a time of 11.12 seconds. She’ll be looking for revenge this weekend, as the two will compete again on the same track.

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Clearly, this Saturday, we’re going to see a hell of a showdown, with the big stars in the field all gathering on Saturday. Who will take home the title? Will Richardson be able to get revenge for last year?

“I Think It’s Reachable”: Elaine Thompson-Herah Is Focused on Breaking Florence Griffith-Joyner’s Century-Old World Record

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Written by:

Mansi Jain

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Mansi Jain is a US Sports author for EssentiallySports. She has a Bachelor's degree in Multimedia and Mass Communication from the University of Delhi and has also previously interned for HT Media. She is always one mention of Yuzuru Hanyu away from delivering an hour-long speech about the athlete's legacy.
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Edited by:

Simar Singh Wadhwa