EUGENE, Ore. — Sha’Carey Richardson was overtaken from the outside in the dying seconds of the 200-meter final at the U.S. Track and Field Trials on Saturday to finish fourth, meaning she has just one chance to win an individual Olympic gold medal next month in Paris.
Gabby Thomas won in 21.81 seconds to claim her second consecutive national title. Richardson was in the top three at her second-best distance with about 40 meters to go, but was passed by Brittany Brown and Mackenzie Long and pulled away.
Richardson finished in 22.16 seconds, his slowest time in the three rounds of the 200 meters.
The 27-year-old Thomas has decided not to run the 400m at the trials to focus on his best race, the 200m, and will be aiming to build on the bronze medal he won in the same event three years ago in Tokyo.
“I knew I had to do well today. This is the first step,” Thomas said. “If I didn’t do well today, I wouldn’t have won the gold medal in Paris, so I’m really happy to be here with all these amazing, incredible women.”
Richardson will compete in the 100 meters as the favorite and the reigning world champion, and will also compete on the women’s 4×100 relay team.
Richardson clapped hands and blew kisses to the crowd before rushing out of the tunnel after a race in which she was widely seen as a top-three contender, despite not having her best performance to date. She won the bronze medal in the 200 meters at last year’s world championships.
Unlike Thomas, she ran three rounds of the physically and mentally taxing 100 meters last week, and unlike Thomas, she received a warning in Friday’s semifinal for a lane violation and will be disqualified if she does so again.
Richardson stumbled slightly at the start, much like she did when she charged off the start in the opening round of the 100m race last week, but she managed to navigate the curves well and, entering the straight, was battling for third place with Tamara Clark in lane four on the left.
But trouble came from her right side. Brown finished in a personal best of 21.90, with Long 0.01 seconds behind her and a sizeable gap left by the time Richardson crossed the finish line.
Thomas has never lost to Richardson in the 200 meters. Her biggest rival in Paris will be Jamaica’s Sherica Jackson, who ran the second-best time ever in 21.41 seconds at last year’s world championships. Jackson won her preliminary round at this weekend’s Jamaican national championships.
Late Saturday, Noah Lyles came from behind to win the 200 meters at the U.S. Track Trials in 19.53 seconds, the fastest time in the world this year, keeping alive his hopes of a double Olympic sprint gold medal.
In addition to winning the 100 meters last weekend, Lyles also won the 200 meters, his specialty event and the race in which he is a three-time world champion.
It wasn’t a close win. Lyles sprinted to the finish line and passed Kenny Bednarek with about 10 meters to go to win by 0.06 seconds. Elyon Knighton, who competed in his first trials this year after being cleared of any involvement with tainted meat, came in third and earned a place on his second Olympic team.
Lyles’ time of 19.53 seconds broke the Olympic Trials record of 19.66 seconds that had been held by Michael Johnson since 1996.
