“I Was Hurt”: Sha’Carri Richardson’s Jamaican Rival Shericka Jackson Opens Up On Biggest Diamond League Loss

Shericka Jackson has not seen this low in six years. It was the 31st of May 2018. At the Rome Diamond League, Shericka Jackson secured the 6th position in the 200m race. Since then, she never sat that deep in a 200m final standing. To top it off, since 13th May 2022, Shericka has always found herself atop the podium. It was on that day at the Doha Diamond League that saw Shericka standing in the second position for the last time. So, the startling loss at the Oslo Diamond League was more than just a sting of defeat.

It seems that the unprecedented fifth-place finish (22.97 seconds) is like going back to square one for Shericka Jackson. The 2x world champion in 200m had to explore the alleys of misery, which she had long left to enjoy the high street of success. So it brought out that unfiltered emotion of her. Recently, in a candid conversation after the Stockholm Diamond League, she opened up about her rare experience of loss, without any bones.

In a recent video uploaded on X, Jackson could be heard sharing, “I was a little bit hurt because it’s been two years since I’ve lost a 200m.” But despite the setback, she holds full faith in her coach and her training regimen. She added, “But I have to trust my coach and I know  how training is going.” The loss is probably even more bitter since she came there garnered with a fresh win. To top it off, despite a heavyweight like her arch-rival Sha’Carri Richardson being absent, Shericka had to swallow the bitter pill from an American athlete.

Just on May 19, at the Morocco Diamond League, Shericka had added one more win (22.82s) to her two-year-long streak. But in Oslo, that streak fell flat in front of American sprinter Brittany Brown, who clocked a time of 22.32 seconds. In that run, the American sprinter picked up her season’s best timing. Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith from Ivory Coast grabbed the second-place finish timing at 22.36. Great Britain’s Daryll Neita emerged as the second runner-up at 22.50. So is the pressure of expectation taking a toll on Shericka Jackson’s performance? 

“Aggressive” Shericka Jackson’s path to the top is treacherous

Shericka Jackson is the fastest woman alive in 200m. Her personal best of 21.41 is just 0.07 seconds away from Florence Griffith Joyner’s world record from 1988. Understandably, every time she takes it to the tracks, a heavy weight of expectation is not unnatural to break her down. If that is not enough, look at the rim of opponents she is surrounded with!

The iconic race between reigning 100m champion Sha’Carri Richardson and Shericka Jackson has yet to take place this year. In the Shanghai/Suzhou Diamond League back in April 2024, both the names of Sha’carri Richardson and Shericka Jackson appeared on the list. But unfortunately, Shericka Jackson pulled out of the event. Sha’carri emerged victorious, defeating Britain’s Daryll Neita. While in the Oslo Diamond League, Sha’carri Richardson did not participate. But for a moment, forget Sha’Carri.

Still, Shericka Jackson’s homeland itself has gifted her two of the fiercest opponents in Elaine Thomson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. So the run is not supposed to be easy for Shericka. Fortunately, she has people to fall back on. “I’ve always been positive and have an amazing group and friends that keep me grounded. I don’t think it’s very difficult to stay positive after Oslo,” she said in the recent conversation. But, this external support is not the only thing that makes Shericka stand her ground. 

Her struggles in childhood have made her somewhat battle-hardy. “I felt like I never had enough to be a child, I felt like I was older than a child moving around, being here for a little while, there for a little while. So, I believe that’s one of the reasons I’m very aggressive even today,” she had said earlier this year to Olympics.com. We can not agree more that the aggression has paid her well on the tracks. Indeed, that looked a bit cracked after the Oslo loss. But she is not the one to let it fall apart.

“Right now, we are just focused on mastering the small pieces of everything we are about to do,” she had said a few days back, referring to her Olympic preparation. Surely, the picture Shericka Jackson is trying to construct with the pieces is nothing less than the Olympic podium!