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Shericka Jackson, now number three all-time

Shericka Jackson, a 27-year-old Jamaican from Kingston, recorded a 21.55-seconds 200m sprint to complete the 100m-200m double win during the Jamaican Championships.

Her 200m performance is the third-fastest all time.

Olympic gold medallist Elaine Thompson-Herah finished in second place in the time of 22.05. Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was third in 22.14.

Jackson’s time puts her behind just two athletes, Florence Griffith Joyner with the world record at 21.34 and fellow Jamaican Thompson-Herah with her best of 21.53.

“Honestly, I am shocked by the time, I never expected to go that fast, I knew that I had something special in my legs, but to run that fast? I’m just grateful,” Jackson told reporters.

“I wanted to run the curve as hard as possible because yesterday coach told me to run the curve hard, ‘I don’t care what you do after the first 100m’, so today, I just wanted to get out hard because the curve has always been one of my problems. I’m not running the curve hard enough. So I’ve been practicing and training. And I think I did really, really well on the curve today. And I’m just grateful,” she said.

Sha’Carri Richardson

The polarizing American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson had pulled out of a few meets earlier this spring. It seemed doubtful that she would be ready for nationals in Eugene, Oregon. However, on June 4th in Florida and June 12 in New York she raced the 100m event well clocking 10.73 and 10.85, respectively. In New York, she also raced the 200m event on June 12 with a 22.38 performance.

None of this is her best running but was an encouraging sign considering her absence from several meets.

However, Richardson failed to make the USATF finals in the 200m event, having finished fifth in the semi-final with a 22.47 clocking.

She then demanded respect from the media. However, she needs to understand that by and large, the media is simply reporting what happens. The 22-year-old is challenged with maintaining a sense of decorum while thrust into the limelight.

“Understand how an athlete operates and then ask your questions. Then be more understanding of the fact that they are still human, no matter just to the fact that y’all are just trying to put something out in an article to make a dollar. Thank you.”

Perhaps Richardson needs some direction from an agency on how to speak publicly.

“I’m coming to speak, not just on my behalf but on all athletes’ behalves, that when you guys do interviews, y’all should respect athletes more.”

Hours before that, she told reporters, “Whenever I step onna track, I want all eyes on me, win, lose or draw.”

So, which is it? Cameras on or cameras off? Perhaps she is just not ready for prime time.

Richardson, who was ranked sixth in the world in the 100m couldn’t get it done in the shorter sprint either. She finished in fifth place in the time of 11.31 seconds during the preliminary heat missing the semifinal.

The surprise lack of finish means she will not run either the 100m or the 200m at the World Athletics Championships in July in Eugene, Oregon. 

Richardson was suspended in 2021 for cannabis just long enough to keep her out of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

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