Sha’Carri Richardson to Square Off Against Olympic Medalists at Prefontaine Classic

AP Photo/Ashley Landis

After missing out on the Olympics because of a suspension, Sha’Carri Richardson will get the chance to test herself against three stars from the Tokyo Games next week. 

Per Rachel Bachman of the Wall Street Journal, the American sprinter will compete against Jamaican stars Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. 

Richardson was expected to be one of the favorites to win gold at the Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 100 meters. She initially qualified for the Games by winning the United States Olympic Team Trial with a time of 10.86 seconds. 

The United States Anti-Doping Agency announced on July 2 that Richardson accepted a 30-day suspension due to an in-competition drug test collected during the trials that came back positive for marijuana. 

Richardson’s 30-day ban ruled her out of the women’s 100-meter race on July 31. She would have been eligible to run in the women’s 4×100 event on Aug. 5-6, but the 21-year-old wasn’t selected to the U.S. team. 

The BBC noted that Richardson’s time of 10.64 seconds at the Olympic Trials semifinals was tied for the third-fastest in history by a female sprinter in the 100 meters at the time, trailing only Florence Griffith-Joyner (10.49 seconds) and Fraser-Pryce (10.63 seconds). 

Thompson-Herah, Fraser-Pryce and Jackson finished in the top three spots in the women’s 100 meters at the Tokyo Olympics. Thompson-Herah’s time of 10.61 seconds set a new Olympic record. 

The Prefontaine Classic will be held at the University of Oregon’s Hayward Field on Aug. 21.