Olympic track and field preview: Sha'Carri Richardson's debut, USA-Jamaica rivalry renewed
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Coley Harvey, ESPN Staff Writer
PARIS — There were two prevailing themes that came out of a news conference featuring some of Team USA’s most successful track and field athletes earlier this week.
The first? That this isn’t Tokyo. The second? That they don’t want to talk about Tokyo anymore.
And who can blame them? Particularly for the American sprinters on the team, the most recent Summer Olympics were an encapsulation of everything they don’t want to be. Missed medal opportunities littered the track, leaving the country’s fastest men and women to stew for three years.
Well, the stewing phase is complete. Now comes the proving phase.
The “proof” Noah Lyles, Sha’Carri Richardson, Kenny Bednarek, Gabby Thomas, Fred Kerley and others are trying to showcase beginning this weekend at the Stade de France? That 2024 is the year of the American sprinter’s resurgence.
After two impressive world championships in 2022 and 2023 and a competitive U.S. trials earlier this summer, the country’s fastest runners are feeling confident the Paris Olympics will see many more of them on the podium, prompting repeated renditions of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
“If you’ve looked at the past two world championships after Tokyo, the U.S. has had a strong dominance on the gold medal stand and on the podium as a whole,” Lyles said at an event in New York earlier this summer. “We’ve been grabbing the medals that we’re supposed to.
“That’s got to make you feel good as we go into the Olympics.”
With athletics events beginning in Paris on Thursday, here’s a primer to get you ready for everything you need to know on the track:
World championships dominance a spark?
Let’s begin by reviewing what Lyles was referencing regarding the Americans’ recent dominance on the international stage.
In 2022 — fresh off a general disappointment in Tokyo that saw only the men’s and women’s 4×400-meter relay teams collect golds for American sprinters — the U.S. men flexed their collective muscle at the first world championships after the lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic.
That year in Eugene, Oregon, they nearly pulled off an individual clean sweep. Kerley finished first in the 100 meters; Lyles bagged the top spot in the 200 meters; and Michael Norman did the same in the 400 meters. In the 110-meter sprint hurdles, Grant Holloway nabbed gold, just like the 4×400 relay team.
As for the women, a gold medal sweep of the relays headlined the meet.
But in 2023, the women were better, even outdueling rival Jamaica in the most widely regarded event on the track: the 100m dash. That meant the woman who won it came to Paris with the world’s biggest target on her back.
Sha’Carri’s moment in the sun
The woman with the bull’s-eye is Richardson, the American track superstar who is in the midst of one of the most impressive redemption stories of any athlete at the Olympics.
Just three years after a positive test for marijuana invalidated her Olympic qualifying time and forced her to miss the Tokyo Games, she’s slated to finally make her Olympics debut.
Richardson hits the track Friday in the women’s 100m preliminaries. It will be her first opportunity to build off the 10.71-second showing she had at U.S. trials a month ago and her 10.65-second personal best that won the 2023 world championships in Hungary.
Both runs were prime examples of how the work she has put in the past three years has paid off.
“I’ve grown a better understanding of myself, a deeper respect and appreciation for my gift that I have in the sport, as well as my responsibility to the people that believe in and support me,” Richardson said.
USA vs. Jamaica: A rivalry renewed
To the average American, it might not have the resonance of Red Sox-Yankees, Lakers-Celtics or Ohio State-Michigan. But for nearly 20 years, the track rivalry between the United States and Jamaica has been one of the most intense in international sports.
It’s a rivalry that, as far as the men are concerned, became fairly one-sided from 2008 to 2016, when Usain Bolt electrified the track and set records that seemingly have no chance of being broken.
Bolt’s 9.58 seconds at the 2009 world championships remains the fastest 100 meters on record.
For the women, the rivalry has had ebbs and flows over the years. At times, like the Tokyo Olympics and the 2022 world championships, Jamaica was practically unbeatable in key individual and relay races. But at others, like the 2023 world championships, the Americans got the upper hand.
Not only did Richardson seemingly come out of nowhere to stun the Jamaican women’s top two sprinters in last year’s 100-meter world championship, but she and her 4×100 teammates snatched another victory from their rivals in a dramatic relay finish there, too.
On the men’s side, Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson has the fastest 100-meter time in the world this year, having posted a 9.77 at the Jamaican trials a month ago. His teammate Oblique Seville beat Lyles in a race in May, running a 9.82-second time.
Lyles, the reigning world championship 100-meter winner, ran a personal-best 9.81 at the London Diamond League meet two weeks ago.
Must-see TV: McLaughlin-Levrone vs. Bol
In addition to the short sprints at the start of the athletics competition, the 400-meter hurdles finals will also be appointment viewing.
Go on and circle Aug. 8 on your calendar. That day, at 3:25 p.m. ET, American hurdler Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone is expected to take on Femke Bol of the Netherlands in one of the most anticipated matchups of the entire Olympics.
“Sydney is the clear favorite,” Bol said at the Diamond League event in London, “but I will be ready for it.”
At the U.S. trials in Oregon a month ago, 24-year-old McLaughlin-Levrone set a 400 hurdles world record, sprinting to gold in 50.65 seconds. Two weeks later, Bol posted a personal best of 50.95. Bol’s finish was a sign of how close their expected Olympics finals meeting should be.
Other Americans to know
As much as Richardson, Lyles and McLaughlin-Levrone will rightfully command the bulk of Team USA attention at the Olympics, there are several other names you must know.
Some are also sprinters, some are distance runners, others are jumpers and throwers. Regardless of their discipline, they are big reasons the Americans could greatly tip the scales of the overall medal count across the next several days.
In no particular order, they are:
Ryan Crouser: A two-time gold medalist, Crouser has placed himself in a league of his own in shot put. Golds at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics have him eager for a three-peat. It would be the sport’s first. Accomplishing that could prove quite challenging. Crouser’s training took an extended pause in the spring after an injury to his throwing elbow that required surgery in April, around the same time he tore a pectoral muscle in his chest. He showed no signs of rust at U.S. trials, though, with a 22.84-meter throw that won the qualifier. He recently told ESPN that he’s healthy and ready to defend his gold.
Gabby Thomas: Even if Thomas weren’t one of the fastest women in the world right now, she would probably appear in children’s history books as an acclaimed epidemiologist. With a master’s in public health, she has a keen interest in educating the public on the necessity of proper sleep. In Paris, Thomas is trying to become the first Harvard graduate to win a gold medal at an Olympics. Her world-leading 21.78-second 200 meters at the U.S. trials in June make her goal a very real possibility. She’s also expected to be part of the U.S. women’s relays.
Anna Hall: One of the most complete athletes at the entire Games, Hall is the favorite to win the women’s heptathlon. Currently the world’s No. 1-ranked heptathlete, she’s coming off gold at this year’s U.S. trials, and respective first- and second-place finishes at the U.S. championships and world championships in 2023. This is the 23-year-old’s first Olympics.
Chase Jackson: Another gold medal contender, Jackson is the top-ranked women’s shot putter in the world. The 30-year-old is making her first Olympics appearance. Jackson, an Oklahoma State alum, has dominated the global shot put stage the past two years, winning gold at the 2022 and 2023 world championships.
Grant Holloway: As a speedy high school wide receiver, Holloway once had Florida Gators fans thinking he might be their next great pass catcher. Football ultimately wasn’t part of Holloway’s plans. Instead, he starred on the university’s track team before beginning a pro career that has seen him routinely toppling 110-meter hurdle times. Holloway’s personal-best 12.81-second showing at the 2021 U.S. trials is just 0.01 seconds shy of the record. With a 12.86 finish at this year’s trials, he’s within range of the record in Paris.
Rai Benjamin: Although Holloway is the short-track hurdler to know, Benjamin is the long-track hurdler who could make waves in Paris. The 400-meter hurdler already has a pair of Olympic medals, taking home silver in his premier event at the Tokyo Games. At the same Olympics, he was part of the gold medal-winning American men’s 4×400 relay.
Tara Davis-Woodhall: A staunch advocate for athletes’ mental health, Davis-Woodhall recently shared that she had difficulty navigating the time off between U.S. trials and the Olympics. While she’s fully comfortable soaking in every moment these Games have to offer now, she addressed how her dramatic last-attempt jump in Oregon took a toll on her mentally. Had she been unable to cleanly bury the 7-meter jump she had on her final qualifying try, she might have missed out on these Olympics. None of it matters now, though. She is here.
McKenzie Long: This year has been a true roller coaster for Long. But as of late, she’s been on a continuous climb that could go even higher these next several days. With a picture of her mother, who died in January, smiling up at her on her phone lock screen at the NCAA championships in June, Long torched the competition to the tune of three NCAA titles. Two weeks later, she followed that up with a silver at the U.S. trials, qualifying in the 200 meters. Only Thomas was faster.
Nia Akins: Another newcomer to the Olympics stage, Akins was Team USA’s first-place finisher in the 800 meters at the trials. It was during the trials finals when Akins and other runners took advantage when a midrace jostling for positions caused reigning Olympic gold medal winner Athing Mu to fall. Mu ultimately slipped to the very back of the pack, ending any chance she had at defending her Tokyo victory. Akins’ first global race was at last year’s world championships, where she finished sixth.
Weini Kelati: Another distance runner, Kelati is originally from Eritrea. She sought asylum in the U.S. while participating as a 17-year-old in a world junior championships in Oregon. Ten years later, she’s representing the States in her first Olympics. She’ll be running the 10,000 meters (6.2 miles) after winning the event at trials.
Some non-Americans to know
Marcell Jacobs (Italy): Jacobs seemingly came out of nowhere to win the Tokyo men’s 100-meter gold medal in 9.80 seconds. But he finished 12th at last year’s world championships, causing many in the sport to question his legitimacy as a consistent speedster.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica): A three-time Olympic gold medalist, Fraser-Pryce is making her fifth Games appearance. The 37-year-old has appeared in only two races this year, finishing third in the 100 at the Jamaica trials in June.
Shericka Jackson (Jamaica): The sprinter, who is at her third Olympics, will be a key challenger to Thomas in the 200. Jackson was expected to be Richardson’s toughest competition in the 100-meter dash before withdrawing Wednesday, ending her chance at a sprint double.
Josh Kerr (Great Britain): Making his second Olympics appearance, the 27-year-old distance runner is looking to build off the bronze he had in the 1500 meters in Tokyo.
