Athletes Race In Eugene for Place in Paris Olympics Team

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Sha'Carri Richardson continued her march toward the Paris Olympics on Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic, winning the women's 100 meters in 10.83 seconds.

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, wearing her long hair tied back in a ponytail, muscled her way to the finish and dramatically pushed off the tape remnants.

After crouching for a moment while her time was announced, Richardson rose to give the crowd at Hayward field a smile and a wave. Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia finished second in 10.93.

“I feel like I'm continuing to grow and develop into a mature young lady, a mature athlete, as well as a vessel that I am put on earth to continue to grow,” Richardson said.

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.

Richardson fell to ninth in the 100 at the 2021 Prefontaine, her first competition following the Olympics disappointment. She did not qualify for the world championships at Hayward Field in 2022.

But since then, she has steadily made a comeback. In 2023, she won her first Diamond League event in Doha. Then she blazed to a title in the U.S. national championships before winning the gold medal at the worlds in Budapest.

Asked if she would race again before the Olympic trials, she said: “We'll see. Watch.”

The Prefontaine Classic was the fifth stop of the year on the elite international Diamond League series. For the Americans vying for a spot on the Olympic team, it served as key tune-up.

Athing Mu, the defending Olympic gold medalist, withdrew from the 800 meters because of lingering hamstring soreness and will instead focus on the trials. Britain's Keely Hodgkinson won the 800 in 1:55.78 under cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 60s.

The Prefontaine's signature event, the Bowerman mile, featured a field that included seven athletes with lifetime bests under 3:50. The race did not disappoint, with Britain's Josh Kerr finishing in 3:45.34, the best time in the world this year.

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.

American Kenneth Bednarkek won the men's 200 in 19.89. Fellow American Grant Holloway, a three-time world champion in the 110 hurdles who has won all of the races he has run this year, finished his event in 13.03, a world best this season.

Chebet bested the previous record of 29:01.03 set by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey at FBK Stadium in the Netherlands on June 8, 2021.

The finish earned Chebet a spot on Kenya's team for the Olympics this summer. Although she primarily competes in the 5,000 meters, she said she hopes to also run the 10,000 in Paris.

In the men's 10,000, Kenyan Daniel Matieko won in 26:50.81, a world best so far this season. Gerald Drummond of Costa Rica topped the field in the 400 hurdles in 48.56. American Joe Kovacs won he shot put.

In the women's 100 hurdles, Cyrena Samba-Mayela of France won with a personal-best finish in 12.52. Ethiopia's Diribe Weleji won the women's 1,500.

Other top finishers included Valarie Allman in the discus and fellow American Emily Grove in the pole vault. Cuba's Leyanis Perez Hernandez won the triple jump and Uganda's Peruth Chemutai won the steeple chase.

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