Sha’Carri Richardson is here to stay.
The Prefontaine Classic track and field meet took place Aug. 21 at Hayward Field at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. Richardson competed in her first race since she was disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics this year after testing positive for marijuana use.
Richardson’s return came two months after she won the 100-meter dash at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. That race was where she became the sixth fastest woman of all time and the fourth fastest American woman in history. Richardson posted a message before she made her return back to the track. Along with the post was a Tik Tok video where she said “August 21 and I’m not playing nice.”
She was placed in a marquee event with three Olympic medalists, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann-Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson all set to compete in the 100-meter dash race.
Richardson was no match for her contenders, as she finished last with a time of 11.14 seconds, according to NBC Sports. Thompson-Herah won the race, Pryce finished second and Jackson came in third. According to ESPN, Richardson was set to compete in another race, the 200-meter dash. She opted out of the race and decided not to participate moments after the 100-meter dash event.
After the race ended, Richardson was not ashamed of the performance she had. She spoke with NBC Sports about her loss Still struggling for breath, she said her performance was a great return to the sport. She made it clear that she had a month off due to personal issues.
“I’m not done,” Richardson said, “you know what I’m capable of. Count me out if you want to. Talk all the shit you want because I’m here to stay. I’m not done. I’m the sixth fastest woman in this game ever. Can’t nobody ever take that from me.”
