EUGENE, Ore. — Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas, two of America’s brightest hopes for medals at the 2024 Paris Games, have both advanced to the finals of the women’s 200-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials. The semifinals, held Friday evening at Hayward Field, saw Richardson and Thomas each winning their respective heats. Richardson clocked a 21.92, tying her personal best, while Thomas ran a 21.78, the fastest time in the world this season. Their victories set the stage for a highly anticipated showdown in the final, scheduled for Saturday at 8:27 p.m. ET (5:27 p.m. local).
“I’m super excited that I actually was able to equal my personal record,” Richardson said on the NBC broadcast after her race. “I’m just looking forward to Saturday and just busting it wide open.”
McKenzie Long, a standout from Ole Miss who had the fastest 200 time in the world this year (21.83) before Thomas surpassed it in her semifinal heat, also advanced to the final.
“I was a little surprised,” Thomas said afterward. “I know I’m in shape and I’m ready to run, but it felt like such a nice, controlled run for me. I didn’t expect to run that fast feeling that good, so it kinda excites me for Saturday.”
Richardson is aiming to qualify in her second event after winning the 100 meters in 10.71 seconds last week. Her performance at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials marks a significant comeback for Richardson, who captured the hearts of track fans in 2021 before a ban for testing positive for THC kept her out of the Tokyo Games. She has been open about her struggles before and after that event, attributing her resurgence to those experiences. This season, she is running with evident joy.
Asked what it would mean to head to Paris in two events, Richardson said, “It would show that divine timing is everything. And what is meant to happen is going to happen and nothing will stop it. And I will feel like it’s my responsibility to go to Paris and bring back those medals.”
Thomas, the defending bronze medalist in the 200 meters and a silver medalist as part of the 4×100 relay in Tokyo, is also a fan favorite. Her popularity is partly due to her unconventional college choice; she ran at Harvard from 2015-18 before turning pro. Thomas has a history of performing well at Hayward Field, having recorded personal bests in both the 100 and 200 meters at previous meets held in Eugene.
“I’m not gonna lie, I would love to see a personal best,” Thomas said. “I think I’m capable. Sitting out the first half of trials took a lot of discipline and patience so that I can run a really good 200. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a big PB Saturday, but I don’t know. You never know what to expect in these kinds of races, so I just want to come out with a win.”
Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas, two of America’s best-known sprinters, will face off Saturday in Oregon in the highly anticipated 200-meter final of the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for track and field.
No one was close to Richardson in her semifinal heat Friday. She equaled her personal best at 21.92 seconds. Then Thomas, who ran in a different heat than Richardson, upped the ante with a blazing 21.78, the world’s best for 2024.
“I was really happy with that,” Thomas told NBC Sports moments after the heat. “That felt like a really smooth and easy run for me. I didn’t really know what to expect. So, to see that kind of time for something that felt so nice and controlled was a good feeling.”
Richardson said she was looking forward to Saturday’s final and “busting it wide open.”
The gun for the women’s 200-meter final is set to be fired at about 8:27 p.m. Saturday ET.
Saturday’s action at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, will also include the men’s 200-meter final, featuring world No. 1 and 2 Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek. Lyles took bronze and Bednarek silver at that distance in Tokyo. Lyles’ time of 19.60 in Friday’s semifinal was a U.S. Olympic Trials record.
“It felt really easy,” said Lyles, who has already qualified for the 100-meter in Paris. “I was very shocked to see that time pop up. I wasn’t even really trying.”
The men’s 200 final will start around 9:49 p.m. ET.
Earlier this week, Richardson was victorious in the 100 meters, punching her ticket to Paris as she seeks the crown of “fastest woman in the world.” Richardson, a Dallas native and LSU alum, tested positive for THC after qualifying for the Tokyo Games and missed out on competing. She admitted to taking the drug to cope with the death of her mother, and her supporters lashed out at U.S. Doping Agency policies on cannabis in an era when the drug is being increasingly legalized across America.
Qualifying for Paris in both the 100 and 200 “would show that divine timing is everything,” Richardson said after the semifinal heat. “I will feel like it’s my responsibility to the USA to go to Paris and bring back those medals,” she said.
Thomas, a Harvard alum, took bronze in the 200 in Tokyo. She and Richardson are ranked No. 2 and 6, respectively, in that event’s current world rankings. Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, who is competing in her national trials this weekend in Kingston, took the gold at the last Olympics.
Other finals set for Saturday in Eugene include the men’s and women’s 20K race walk, men’s discus, women’s long jump, women’s shot put, and women’s 10,000 meters. The shot put competition includes Tokyo silver medalist Raven Saunders, who will be seeking her third trip to the Olympics.
Source: NBC News, USA Today
