Jamaican Olympic Champion Elaine Thompson-Herah won the 100m at the Prefontaine Classic on Saturday, while runner-up Sha’Carri Richardson’s performance put her back in the medal mix for July’s world championships at the same track.
According to NBC Sports, Thompson-Herah, who, in Tokyo, became the first woman to win the 100m and 200m at back-to-back Olympics, clocked 10.79 seconds at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon.
Thompson-Herah ran 10.54 at Prefontaine Classic last year, the second-best time in history, and has dealt with Achilles and shoulder injuries this spring, NBC Sports said.
“To keep the fire going, it’s a challenge sometimes, especially when you have bumps in the road,” Thompson-Herah told reporters afterwards. “I am a fighter, and every champion has something they’re fighting.”
Richardson was second in 10.92 with her tiara falling off mid-race, NBC Sports said.
“The result was promising, given it’s just her second meet of the year and her fastest time since last year’s Olympic Trials by a sizable .22 of a second,” the network said.
It said Richardson won last June’s trials at Hayward, then was disqualified for testing positive for marijuana and missed the Tokyo Games.
NBC Sports said Richardson, who did not speak to media after the race, is now the joint-third-fastest American this year and presumably still on the ascent given her late start to the season.
“Next, she must finish top three at the USATF Outdoor Championships in four weeks, also at Hayward, to make the world team,” NBC Sports said.
It said Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the 2008 and 2012 Olympic champion, remains fastest in the world this year with a 10.67 from three weeks ago.
Fraser-Pryce entered the 200m at Pre and won in 22.41, well off the world’s top time this year of 21.87 from Olympic silver medalist Christine Mboma of Namibia, NBC Sports said.
It said the Diamond League moves to Rabat, Morocco, for a meet on June 5.
