American sprinters Sha’Carri Richardson and Chris Coleman excel at Prefontaine Classic as they secure comprehensive wins in 100m events.
Kenyan Beatrice Chebet set a world record in the 10,000 meters at the Pre earlier in the day with a time of 28 minutes, 54.14 seconds, while American Christian Coleman won the day’s other notable event, the men’s 100, in a season-best 9.95.
But the spotlight was on the battle between Richardson, the 2023 world champion, and Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in both the 100 and 200 meters.
Thompson-Herah faded at the Pre, finishing last in the field of nine. The charismatic Richardson muscled her way to the finish and dramatically pushed off the tape remnants.
Richardson will get her shot at a spot on the U.S. team for Paris at the Olympic trials next month in Eugene. She was denied a chance to run in the Tokyo Games because of a positive drug test for marijuana following her first-place finish in the 100 at the trials.
Coleman, the world indoor champion in the 60 this year, won the 100 at the 2019 worlds in Doha. His finish at the Pre was his first sub-10 second finish in the 100 this year. Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala was second in 9.98.
“I feel good. I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in, and I feel like now it’s just mentally putting it all together and doing what I know I’m capable of on race day,” Coleman said.
Sherjeel Malik is the editor at FanHaat with a writing experience in multiple sports. He oversees the editorial and content coverage at FanHaat and writes often around combat sports, football and other marquee sports. A professional highlight of his career was when WWE’s Paul Heyman shared one of his articles on his social media.
Apart from writing, editing and watching sports, he likes to indulge in reading fiction, watching war documentaries and is a fan of Liverpool FC
