Elaine Thompson-Herah didn’t appear to be affected by any nagging injuries on Saturday. Photo by Chloe Montague
Elaine Thompson-Herah won her Diamond League season debut in the women’s 100-meter race Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic, finishing with a time of 10.79 seconds despite having lingering injuries going into the meet.
“I had dislocated my shoulder,” Thompson-Herah said. “It’s not 100 percent, but I’m happy for what I had today on the track.”
Thompson-Herah beat the second and third place sprinters by .13, with Sha’Carri Richardson and Shericka Jackson having a photo finish for second place. They have the same official time, 10.92, but when the time was extended to thousandths of a second, Richardson finished second by .001.
This was the first time Richardson broke the 11-second mark since she ran 10.86 to win last year’s Olympic trials. Her time was .35 seconds faster than her earlier race this season, when she ran 11.27 at the Duval County Challenge.
“[Richardson] is a good athlete, and I think she’s taking her way back on the track.” Thompson-Herah said.
At last year’s Prefontaine Classic, Richardson made her return to the track after being suspended after testing positive for marijuana at the Olympic Trials. At that meet, she came in ninth place, running 11.14.
Jackson competed in her second Diamond League meet after coming in second at Birmingham last week. Thompson-Herah dropped out of that meet due to discomfort during practice.
“I’m a fighter,” Thompson-Herah said. “Every champion has something that they’re fighting or going through.”
Thompson-Herah said she plans on running the 100 and 200 at the World Athletics Championships this July, which will be held in Eugene and in the United States for the first time.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 100 is looking to add a world championship gold medal to her repertoire, as she only has a silver medal world championship medal in the 200.
