Sha’Carri Richardson gives her Olympic hopes a jolt with 100m win at Prefontaine Classic

EUGENE, Ore. — The display of power out of the starting block was back. Also back was the smooth acceleration once she straightened up, more like the whiz of a Tesla than a nitro boost.

Sha’Carri Richardson, 24, didn’t need a masterful close at Saturday’s Prefontaine Classic. Still, she punctuated a 100-meter victory with a punch of the tape and a glare of certainty into the adoring crowd at Hayward Field. The fierceness was back.

Her first 100 since September was light work: 10.83 seconds. A tenth of a second better than second place (St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred) and nearly a half a second better than Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah, the five-time Olympic champ and reigning gold medalist in the 100, who finished ninth.

“I feel like my performance reflects my training,” said Richardson, who swapped her majestic ‘fro for a spine-length ponytail and laid edges for Prefontaine, “as well as my mindset and as well as my faith. Continuing to understand who I am and develop me as a person, as well as an athlete and a woman.”

HERE COMES SHA’CARRI RICHARDSON.

The reigning 100m world champion gets it done against a stacked field at #EugeneDL.

📺: @nbc & @peacock pic.twitter.com/ioiwpyuwqe

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) May 25, 2024

The last two times Richardson graced a meet, both last month in China, she lost in the 200 meters. First to Australian Torrie Lewis in a photo finish in the Xiamen Diamond League. A week later, in the Suzhou Diamond League, it wasn’t so close, as British sprinter Daryll Neita smoked the field. Richardson came in third.

But Richardson’s three-race losing streak came to an end at this year’s Prefontaine. Saturday was a reminder that she is still here and inescapable in any fastest-woman talk. A save-the-date for her redemption tour.

The U.S. Olympic trials, also at Hayward Field, are less than a month away. Richardson, ranked No. 1 in the world, will finally get a chance to secure a spot in the Olympics. She missed the 2020 Tokyo Games (held in the summer of 2021 because of the pandemic) after a positive test for marijuana invalidated her qualifying time. She received a 30-day suspension and was subsequently left off the USA women’s 4×100 relay team. Her Olympic dreams have been delayed for three years.

A 10.83 in her first race of the year, in a relative cruise to victory, bodes well for her chances of leaving a mark this summer.

“This year’s been humbling,” she said in the post-race interview on NBC, “and I just understand no matter what’s going on to always stay focused on the mission at hand. So it feels exciting hearing everybody cheering my name. And it gave me reassurance from the outside that I am still who I am and just focus on being just me.”

The smile was back.

Feat of the meet

The first astonishing feat at Hayward Field on Saturday was by Kenyan long-distance runner Beatrice Chebet.

In her first 10,000-meter race in more than four years, she smashed the world record: 28:54.14. The previous world record, set by Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey in June 2021, was 29:01.03.

After winning, Chebet announced she would compete in both the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races in the 2024 Olympics. The Prefontaine Classic served as a qualifier for Kenya’s national team.

“For Paris, I’m going to double,” she said. “But my target is to run 5,000 first, then 10,000 comes second. Because this is my first 10,000 outside the country to run, and I’m so happy to run 28, a world record.”

Chebet is the current world No. 1 in cross country and No. 2 in the 5,000-meter. Before Saturday, she’d never ranked higher than 58th in the world in the 10,000-meter. But her time Saturday was four minutes, 35 seconds better than the last time she ran the 10,000 — at the Athletics Kenya meet in Nairobi in March 2020.

Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay, the current No. 1 in women’s 10,000-meter, finished second Saturday with a personal best time of 29:05.92.

It was a historic day in Eugene as Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet set a new WORLD RECORD in the women’s 10,000m with a time of 28:54.14. 🇰🇪#EugeneDL pic.twitter.com/kB5EWq0JJO

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) May 25, 2024

Biggest upset

On her second attempt, American Emily Grove cleared 4.63 meters (15 feet, 2.25 inches). It was enough to win the women’s pole vault.

Over Katie Moon, the reigning Olympic and world champion in women’s pole vault.

“I love Katie,” Grove said, “and she’s been struggling with an injury. So it was really good to see her back on the field and she’s got some timing things, too, and she knows she’ll be just fine for the trials.”

Moon pulled out of a meet in February in France because of concerns about her Achilles. The Prefontaine Classic was just her fourth event of the season. Her only win came in the USA Indoor Championships in New Mexico three months ago.

Moon and Grove were the only women to attempt 4.73 meters. Both missed all three. Moon cleared 4.53 on her second attempt and then passed on jumping 4.63 — thus opening the door for Grove and Venezuela’s Robeilys Peinado, who missed all three attempts.

But Moon’s frustration was masked by a smile. She found comfort in knowing she’s much better at handling the rough days. It wasn’t that long ago such a performance would spiral her into an emotionally unhealthy place.

“I’m grateful that even on days I’m disappointed, I’m still finishing second in the Diamond League,” she said. “It’s frustrating and, obviously, I know the trials are a month away and it’s looming. But I also just have faith in my training and what I have been able to do. And it is getting better. I’ve only had one session from full-approach in training.”

New world leaders

— Team USA’s Joe Kovacs took the world lead with a 23.13-meter shot put on his sixth and final attempt.

— In the women’s 800, Keely Hodgkinson of Great Britain ran a 1:55.78 to win comfortably over reigning world champ Mary Moraa of Kenya and American Nia Akins. American Athing Mu, who won the 800 here in September, was scratched from the lineup thanks to a hamstring injury.

— Grant Holloway conquered the 110-meter hurdles in 13.03, inching closer to the sub-13 number he’s got in him.

— Ethiopia’s Tsigie Gebreselama recorded a personal best in the 5,000 meters, her time of 14:18.76 topping Chebet’s previous world-leading mark by more than eight seconds.

— Peruth Chemutai set Uganda’s new record in the women’s 3,000-meter steeplechase: 8:55.09.

(Top photo of Sha’Carri Richardson: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)