Sha’Carri Richardson has been on a roll in 2023. The American track star put in some impressive performances during last month’s U.S. Championships in Oregon. She became the national women’s 100m champion with an impressive time of 10.82 seconds. Then, on 21st August, Richardson again replicated her 100m dominance in Budapest by becoming the women’s 100m world champion. She ended up beating her Jamaican rival, Shericka Jackson, with a time of 10.65 seconds.

Now all eyes are on Richardson as she looks to win the upcoming 200m event. However, she is set to face tough competition from Jackson who is the world’s second-fastest woman in the 200m event with a breathtaking time of 21.45 seconds.

Sha’Carri Richardson’s 200m test

Sha’Carri Richardson will be looking to dominate Jackson once again as they are all set to lock horns to clinch the 200m crown. Both athletes have qualified for the 200m final and Jackson came out on top during the semi-final with 22.00 seconds. But Jackson is not her only competition. The American track star will also have to fight against fellow compatriot Gabby Thomas, Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith, St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred, and Great Britain’s Daryll Neita. While all athletes have the winning potential, Shericka Jackson remains a frontrunner for the 200m event.

Jackson is only 0.11 seconds behind Florence Griffith Joyner’s 35-year-old record of 21.34 seconds. Gabby Thomas will also challenge both Richardson and Jackson. During last month’s U.S. Championships, Thomas won the 200m event as Richardson finished second with her personal best time of 21.94. But when Thomas and Jackson squared off against each other at the Monaco Diamond League earlier this year, Jackson finished first while Thomas had to settle for a seventh-place finish. With only hours to go for the race, fans of Sha’Carri Richardson were puzzled by the official announcement of lane positions, and they made their discontentment heard on X.

Fans remain puzzled with official lane positions

With just hours to go for the 200m women’s final event, the final lane assignments have been announced and fans of Sha’Carri Richardson were not happy with her placement. A user tweeted about her position by writing, “Why is sha’carri in lane 9?”. As fans were left bewildered, one fan highlighted how this could be a blessing in disguise for Richardson by commenting, “Lane 9 in a 200m isn’t bad. She has a gentler curve. She can get off the curve first with less centrifugal force.”

While one fan indicated that this would not pose a problem for the world champion and wrote, “But also Sha’carri runs a beautiful curve either way”

While Richardson’s fandom is still figuring out the logic behind her lane placement, the American sprinter is all girded up to bag another victory by winning the 200m heat against her Jamaican rival Shericka Jackson.

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