Earlier this summer, the 21-year-old was expected to be one of the headliners at the Olympic Games, but things did not go to plan as she missed the event after being suspended for a month after testing positive for marijuana.
Nor did her match-up with the medal-winning Jamaica trio from the Olympics, Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Shericka Jackson. Despite plenty of pre-race hype, the American finished last in the event. The result divided social media users with many still offering support for Richardson, while many others ridiculed her.
Recently the sprinter also drew heat for what many construed to be disrespect shown to legendary American sprinter Alyson Felix who called for patience and support for the young runner. Bolt, however, believes the athlete’s personality draws more people to the sport.
“I like her energy because I think she’s good for the sport because her energy is different. It’s spicy, it’s a vibe,” Bolt told hip hop magazine Revolt Tv.
“Everybody is different. But, I think she brings a different spice to track and field. And sometimes sports need somebody like that to give the energy, to get people talking about it,” he added.
The double world record holder also offered some kind words of advice to the young American.
“You will have failures throughout your career, it’s just one of those things. In my first Olympics in Athens, I didn’t make it outside the first round. So, it’s just about being determined and pushing yourself, and just believing that you can do it, and just go and do your best.”
The 32-year-old runner finished just outside of the medal places in Tokyo, after being caught and passed close to the finish line by USA legend Alisson Felix who captured the final podium spot. The race was won in dominant fashion by the Bahamas’ Shaunae Miller-Uibo with second place going to the Dominica Republic’s Marileidy Paulino.
McPherson’s finishing time of 49.61 was much slower than her season-best of 49.34, which had been recorded in the event's semi-final. The athlete collapsed violently sobbing after the event. Francis admits that the athlete’s time in the final was a bit of a surprise but believes she is poised to recover and post exceptional performances in the upcoming season.
“It was disappointing because I thought she would have run 48 high in the 400m (Olympic final),” Francis told Sportsmax.Tv in a recent interview.
“She is, however, young enough and determined enough that she will be able to try again,” he added.
McPherson, the event’s reigning national champion, returned to training with the majority of the club’s athletes earlier this week.
The fastest woman alive Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce seems assured of her spot at a fourth Olympic Games, and she seems certain to be joined by reigning champion Elaine Thompson-Herah by the time the women's 100m is complete at the National Stadium in a few hours time.
Who will win the battle to claim the rest of the spots is, however, anyone’s guess. The likes of world junior champions Briana William, in-form NCAA sprinter Kemba Nelson, World Championships relay gold medallist Natasha Morrison and 400m specialist Shericka Jackson will all be part of a quality, competitive pack.
Jamaica sprint king Usain Bolt has now long retired, and it seems an almost impossible task for the current generation to fill his shoes. The likes of World Champion Yohan Blake once thought to be his natural successor will be looking to make a statement when he touches the track tonight.
Competing earlier today, Sobers smashed his previous record of 1:48.35, set earlier this year. The 22-year-old, swimming out of lane 7, in heat 2, finished in a time of 1:48.09 to finish 6th. The heat was won by Romania’s David Popovici who touched home first in a time of
1:45.32. Second place went to Serbia’s Velimir Stjepanovic, who recorded a time of 1:46.26. Both men advanced to the event’s semifinals.
For Sobers, the result follows up on the second-time Olympian’s 7th place finish in heat 2 of the Men’s 400m Freestyle yesterday. He finished in a time of 3:59.14 seconds. Sobers failed to advance to the semifinals in any of his events.
Meanwhile, his teammate, Danielle Titus also finished 6th in her heat today. The Olympic debutante hit the pool for the Women’s 100m Backstroke and finished with a time of 1:04.53. She did not advance to the semifinals. That was her only event. The event was won by Moldova’s Tatiana Salcutan who was first in 1:01.59, with McKenna DeBever Elliot second in 1:02.09.
The Tokyo Olympics 100m bronze medallist looked in superb form as she ran away from reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah to claim the event in 10.77. The win was the first for the talented all-around sprinter having previously claimed two 400m titles and one over 200m.
Despite being thrilled with the result the athlete was quick to admit that she was not entirely satisfied and looking for a faster time. Jackson finished one-hundredth of a second outside her personal best.
“I’m feeling good but I’m actually a little disappointed with the time, knowing where I am at in training, but I will take it for now,” the sprinter said after the race.
With the women’s 200m set to run off on Saturday, however, Jackson has another opportunity to show just how far she has progressed, and she intends to take it.
“Something special will be in store for that event,” Jackson added.
The athlete has been one of the event's standout performers this season and clocked the third-fastest time over the distance this year with a 21.91 showing in Rome.
In what many predict could be a preview to the Olympic Games later this summer, Jamaican speed queens Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah will finally face red-hot American Sha'Carri Richardson, the early-season favourite, for the first time this year.
Historically, as far as the speed record book is concerned, the early season clash could be one of mammoth proportions. The trio are not only three of the six fastest women alive, but also the only ones still active on the all-time speed list.
Fraser-Pryce holds the fourth-fastest time ever recorded over the distance at 10.70, set in Kingston, Jamaica, in 2012. Her compatriot, Thompson-Herah, matched that identical time, at the same venue, in 2016 and is joint-fourth on the list. Richardson joined the exclusive list last month with her clocking of 10.72, recorded in Florida, making her the sixth-fastest of all time.
The times are only bettered by Marion Jones (10.65), Carmelita Jeter (10.64), and Florence Griffith-Joyner (10.49), a trio of American sprinters who are no longer active.
Richardson has of course set the season marker with her burst of speed last month, but Thompson-Herah is not far behind having registered 10.78 in Clermont.
The trio are, however, not the only big names in the field with Great Britain’s fastest woman Dina Asher-Smith and Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare also set to face the starter. Another Jamaican, who will also line up in the blocks, Natasha Morrison, is also in fine form this season having recorded the third-fastest time, 10.87, last month in Florida.
In addition to just the times, there will be plenty of pedigree on display, between them Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah have claimed 7 of the last 9 major games 100m Olympics and World Championship titles. The only exceptions to that dominance being the 2011 World Championships, which was won by Jeter, and the 2017 World Championships, which was won by another American Torrie Bowie.
Also scheduled to take part in the meet are world long jump champion Tajay Gayle, world triple jump silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts, and world shot put silver medallist Danniel Thomas-Dodd.
In surging to the line, the 20-year-old turned the tables on USC all-American TeeTee Terry. Terry, the 2019 NCAA champion in the event, finished second in 7.24. Oregon senior Brianna Duncan was third in 7.30. Nelson’s time is seventh fastest all-time at Oregon.
On the previous day in the 200m, it was Terry who took top billing finishing in 23.35, ahead of Nelson who ran second in 23.53.
Nelson, the national junior double sprint champion in 2019, joined Oregon last fall after three years at the University of Technology (Utech), in Jamaica.
Despite failing to advance to the semifinal round, Charlemagne who competed earlier today swimming out of lane 5, in heat 5, finished 2nd with a time of 26.99, lowering the previous national record of 27.27 which she had set in 2019.
The heat was won by Cameroon’s Norah Elizabeth Milanesi who was clocked a time of 26.41 and Fiji’s Cheynne Rova rounded out the top three finishers with a time of 27.11.
Also competing in the heat was Antigua’s Samantha Roberts, who finished 6th, touching home with a time of 27.63, her fastest time since 2016.
This was the first time Charlemagne has competed in the Women’s 50m Freestyle at a major senior competition since 2017 when she participated at the World Championships held in Budapest, Hungary.
Charlemagne, who recently turned 18-years-old, is a student-athlete at Springfield College in the United States. She is the second St. Lucian swimmer to compete at this year’s Olympics, her teammate Jean-Luc Zephir competed yesterday in the Men’s 100m Freestyle, finishing his heat in 6th place.
Both projects will fall within the remit of a government maintenance program geared towards ensuring that money is set aside for upgrading the island's stadiums. According to Grange, resurfacing work at the National Stadium is expected to begin “any time now, with Catherine Hall Sports Complex penciled in as a priority for the next year.
According to Grange two factors will determine when the work gets going at the National Stadium. The first is the fact that the track has to be laid on a completely dried surface, and the process must therefore await the end of seasonal rains. The other factor is the ability of the manufacturers' representatives, BSW of Germany, to leave Germany to come to Jamaica to supervise the project and that will depend on COVID restrictions.
“The material for the resurfacing of the Stadium track is on site. Upgrading after 10 years of usage is now necessary for the track to retain its Class 1 certification by World Athletics, formerly the International Association of Athletics Federations. The track was laid in 2010 with a projected lifespan of eight years. But because of maintenance and care we were able to extend it by another two years to 2020,” Grange said.
“The Government is putting a maintenance/replacement program to ensure that there is money for upgrading stadiums. It is through such a plan for the National Stadium that we have money for a new track. Money was actually put aside for the National Stadium because of proper planning and going forward we will be using that approach for upgrading of the facilities.”
The Jamaican sprinter is looking for her third Olympic 100m gold.
The athlete’s sojourn at the Games, which began as a 14-year-old high schooler at the 2004 Atlanta Olympics, ended last week after she failed to advance from the heats of the 100m breaststroke.
It wasn’t the fairytale ending that most would have wanted, especially considering the fact that Atkinson had come so close to achieving her dream eight years ago. It was at the 2012 Olympics, that she seemed destined to finally adorn herself with elusive Olympic precious metal, only to narrowly miss out on the medals after finishing fourth in the 100m Breaststroke.
Despite never quite managing to take that final step, however, very few would consider the swimmer’s Olympic career to be one where she failed. Missing out on the medal podium will never stain her legacy.
A quick look at the swimmer's CV shows that she has put together quite an accomplished career, which includes a long list of firsts.
In 2014, she became the first black woman to hold a world record in swimming after clocking 1:02.36 in the short course 100-metre breaststroke, tying the world record in the event.
In 2016, Atkinson set a new world record in the short course 50-metre breaststroke. Two years later, in 2018, she broke her own record in the short course 50-metre breaststroke. She is also the first Afro-Jamaican to win a world title in swimming. Overall, she has earned 12 World Championship medals, four of which have been gold.
Those accomplishments, however, only tells half of the story. The second, perhaps more critical, part of her legacy is what she has meant to a new generation of swimmers that have closely studied her every accomplishment.
Even among her peers, Atkinson, ever the stateswoman, has courted admiration and respect in every corner of the sport and much wider society. That was quite obvious based on the outpouring of support, thanks, and congratulations that poured in once she had announced the decision to call time on her Olympic career. So, while she may never have stood on any of the three official blocks of honour, Atkinson has been elevated much higher than many who have had the privilege.
Long jumper, Andwuelle Wright, and 400m hurdler, Sparkle-Ann McKnight, will not compete at the Games in Tokyo after their covid-19 tests returned positive results. A coach, Wendell Williams will also miss the games, after becoming the third positive result.
With less than 24-hours to compete, the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee revealed the breaking news via social media.
“Two Team TTO athletes and one official received positive test results following daily routine Saliva Antigen tests at the Olympic Village. This came following two Nasopharyngeal PCR verification tests in accordance with established TOKYO2020 COVID-19 protocols, countermeasures, and guidelines.
The three members have been placed into quarantine at an approved hotel facility for foreign athletes and officials.
Former Carifta gold medallist and Trinidad and Tobago’s national long jump record holder, Wright, also confirmed the news via social media. The aspiring athlete is disheartened by the circumstances but is happy that he is healthy and well.
“The Olympics has come [and] gone for me and my heart hurts more than anything else. I am devasted, confused and heartbroken. My coach and I both tested positive for COVID-19 virus days before I had to compete, after receiving six (6) negative test and I had to withdraw from the games,” he posted.
“More Importantly I’m okay although I don’t know what “okay” looks like right now but I’m happy to be alive and breathing.”
23-year-old Wright, who is from Tobago, said he was fully vaccinated and was not showing any symptoms during his time at the Olympic Games.
“[I was] experiencing zero symptoms of this virus also being fully vaccinated, meaning my Olympic dreams and everything we worked hard towards was shattered.”
McKnight, previously represented Trinidad and Tobago at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships in Athletics, reaching the semifinals on the second occasion.
Williams was a former Trinidad and Tobago national long jump record holder. He held the previous mark of 8.14m since 1999. However, Wright leaped to an impressive 8.23m to eclipse the feat his coach had achieved.
Taplin, now 28, was handed a four-year ban last year after being charged with intentionally evading sample collection, following his 400m victory at the 2019 Grenada Invitational Athletics Competition. The athlete was found to have left the stadium without completing doping control. Taplin appealed the decision, but it was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) earlier this year.
The athlete will, however, also now serve a sequential three-years on that sentence, this time for doping whereabouts violations that occurred in 2019. According to a release issued by the AIU, Taplin was found to have missed tests on the 21st April, August 28th, and 25th of November. Based on the rules, any combination of three missed
tests and/or filing failures within any twelve-month period is considered a violation. The Grenada Invitational Athletics concluded on the 13th of April. On each of the occasions, the report claims a tester showed up at Taplin’s residence in Bryan, Texas, USA, and knocked for an hour before leaving having not received a response.
Taplin, through an attorney, later contested the November 25th missed test after pointing out that he had been required to appear in court at the time of the stated test and did not think there was time to adjust the whereabouts form. After convening a tribunal, the AIU, however, later rejected the explanation provided by the athlete as insufficient. The new three-year ban will take effect once the athlete has concluded the four-year period of ineligibility.
Taplin, who has a PB of 44.38, finished 7th in the 400m at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.
Paulino has had an outstanding 2022, setting national records in both the 200m and 400m. In addition to that, the 25-year-old athlete claimed a silver medal at IAAF World Championships and ended the season by capturing the Diamond Trophy. On that occasion, the athlete set another national record and more importantly dipped below the 49-second mark for the first time in her career.
The time of 48.99 marks the athlete the 12th fastest in history. A fine accomplishment, but approaching the record of 47.60, set, and held for 37 years, by the German Democratic Republic’s Marita Koch is no simple feat. In fact, the sprinters in the many years since have found it almost difficult to even approach the previous mark of 47.99 set by Czechoslovakia’s Jarmila Kratochvílová in 1983.
"That's a dream she has, we both have it. In the end, we are going to keep working. It's a tough thing, but so far everything has been difficult and we have set out on the road to the world record," said Pérez said. Despite the difficulty, the coach points out the athlete has been taking things stage by stage.
"Next year we are going to try to establish the stability of 48 seconds. This season, we had worked very well to maintain the levels obtained in the Olympic Games and as we worked throughout the year, improving the speed part, we saw what was coming and the time of 48 became a fact. It didn't happen at the world championships because of the disruption of the relays, but we had been working to lower it.”
At 38 years old Benjamin made history for the Caribbean after qualifying for the event at the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics. He is, however, the second skier to do so for Jamaica behind Errol Kerr who competed in Freestyle skiing at the 2010 Winter Olympics where he finished in 9th position. Kerr’s finish remains the best placing by a Caribbean athlete at any Winter Olympics.
Despite the fame garnered from the 1988 Winter Olympics four-man bobsled team, immortalised by the cult classic Cool Runnings, it is the Summer Olympics that have been the forte of the Caribbean island.
Led by Jamaican track and field legend Usain Bolt, Beijing was a happy hunting ground for the country’s Summer Olympic team in 2008, where they claimed 11 medals. While Benjamin won’t necessarily expect that type of success, the newly minted Olympian believes there is plenty of talent to harness within the country and throughout the diaspora.
“What my story is all about is encouraging the next generation of Jamaicans to start before 32, so that we can have a real chance at medaling,” Benjamin told the SportsMax Zone.
“I’ve already identified three Jamaicans in New York, who started skiing when they were less than two years old, and they’ve been race training for the last 10 years. So, they’re now 14 years old and these guys are going to come with force when we get to the 2026 Games,” he added.
“I think that we can get a really strong ski team from the pool of talent we already have in Jamaica and the diaspora.”
Benjamin has targeted being actively involved with the Jamaica Ski Federation (JSF). Richard Salm the former president of the JSF died of injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident last year.
For basketball there's the United States Dream Team, for football, it’s Brazil for track and field, surely the Jamaica women’s sprint team has to be right up there.
At the country’s national trials, Fraser-Pryce (10.71), Shericka Jackson (10.82), and Elaine Thompson-Herah (10.84) were the three athletes to secure an automatic spot. In Tokyo, as many predicted a few weeks later, the places were different, with Thompson-Herah taking gold, Fraser-Pryce silver, and Jackson bronze but the trio remained the same.
At the Jamaica trials, Briana Williams, the 2018 world junior champion, found herself with only a relay spot after clocking 11.01, a time that would have been good enough to win most national championships around the globe let alone make the team.
In such a competitive field, there is certainly very little room for error and a bad day could mean the difference between first and third or missing out entirely. Fraser-Pryce wouldn’t have it any other way.
“For me, I’m kind of glad that we have that competition because when you are in practice you have to always make sure that you are giving 100 percent at all times,” Fraser-Pryce told members of the media ahead of Saturday’s Diamond League meet in Eugene.
,“You don’t have room for any errors or any time for slacking off because there are so many other ladies who are behind, who are coming. So, it definitely forces you to be on your A-game and I think that’s good for me as an athlete.”
Fraser-Pryce will face off against Thompson-Herah, Jackson, and American Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100m today.
The 34-year, who has represented the county at the Olympic Games on several occasions, retired from international competition in 2018, pointing to the exorbitant cost of competing as a major factor in his decision.
Earlier this year, Bailey announced that he had decided to return to the sport in order to compete at next year’s Olympic Games. It seems, however, that some things have yet to change.
“They turned down my stuff and I left it alone, but I knew that was going to happen and I just think that the NOC is a sham because they don’t care about the athletes,” Bailey said recently on the Good Morning Jojo sports show.
“It is the first time I have sent the NOC an email about funding and the murmuring stated as to why Bakka want this and why Bakka wants that but at the end of the day, the money does not belong to any one of them and without the athletes, they can’t get any funding,” he added.
Earlier this year, EP Chet Greene, politician, and president of the NOC pledged to support the athlete after learning of his bid to qualify for the Olympics.
Bailey’s scorn was not, however, limited to the NOC as he reflected on a long career of footing his own expense.
“For the majority, I had to do it myself along with two or three corporate sponsors. The NOC is not coming on board, the athletics association is not coming on board and the Ministry of Sports is not coming on board. At the age of 18 years, I left for Jamaica on an IOC scholarship, and ever since then I have never gotten any help from the NOC, the government nor the Ministry of Sports. I have been to four Olympic Games, spent 100s of thousands of dollars on myself, and represented this country without a dollar from anybody.”
Bailey, who has a personal best of 9.91, has made it to the semi-finals of two Olympic Games and was fourth at the 2009 World Championships.
After an event-leading 18.98, registered in the third round, Thomas-Dodd seemed set to successfully defend her title. It was not to be, however, as Canadian Sarah Mitton registered a massive 19.03 to take the lead in the sixth and final round.
With one throw to go, Thomas-Dodd could not find a response. Maddison-Lee Wesche of New Zealand was third in 18.84. Another Jamaican in the field, Lloydricria Cameron, finished just outside the medals in 17.62.
The Jamaicans and the American seemed set for a blockbuster showdown over the distance, having recorded three of the six fastest times in history.
However, Thompson-Herah is not listed on the start list for the meet and according to reports has pulled out of the event. There has been no official reason provided for the sprinter’s withdrawal.
The field will, however, still boast plenty of quality, with Great Britain’s fastest woman, Dinah Asher-Smith, and another Jamaican, Natasha Morrison, also set to face the starter. Morrison has clocked the third-fastest time over the distance this year, having run her personal best of 10.87, in Florida, last month.
According to reports, Thompson-Herah is also registered to face off against Richards at next week’s Doha Diamond League meet, where multiple world medallist Marie-Josée Ta Lou (Ivory Coast) and Nigeria’s national record holder Blessing Okagbare are also expected to be a part of the field. Thomspon-Herah is the second-fastest woman this season having clocked a time of 10.78 in Florida last month.
For the first time in four races involving Thompson-Herah, however, a Jamaican trio did not sweep all the spots on the podium. Thompson-Herah took top spot in 10.72, with Olympic bronze medallist Shericka Jackson second in 10.97. Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith took third spot in 11.06 and Jamaica’s Natasha Morrison was fourth in 11.09.
However, Olympic silver medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce did not take part in the meet.
Thompson-Herah, who clocked a meeting record, had an average start but started to pull away from the field by the 60m mark and was well clear by the finish.
In the men’s equivalent, Jamaica’s Nigel Ellis clocked 10.14 to take second spot, behind the United States’ Marvin Bracy who claimed top spot in 10.04. Côte d’Ivoire’s Arthur Cissé was third in 10.17. Another Jamaican in the race, Julian Forte, was fifth in 10.21, with Antigua and Barbuda’s Cejhae Greene 7th in 10.26.
In the women’s 100m hurdles, Danielle Williams recorded her fastest time this season, taking the event in 12.50. The Netherlands Nadine Visser was second in a national record of 12.58, with Olympic bronze medallist Megan Tapper third in 12.66.
In the men’s equivalent, Olympic gold medallist Hansle Parchment bounced back to form after claiming the event in 13.03.
The United States’ Devon Allen was second in 13.08, with his compatriot Daniel Roberts third in 13.16. Jamaica’s Ronald Levy, the Olympic bronze medallist was third in 13.24.
