Decorated Jamaica sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce insists there are no ill feelings towards talented young American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson, despite plenty of talk surrounding the athletes in recent weeks.

In truth, the majority of the arguments have come from feuding sides of the Jamaica vs the United States track and field rivalry, which has amplified in recent months since the American burst onto the scene.

The flamboyant Richardson has certainly played her part in fueling debates in recent months, even if her performances have not quite lived up to expectations, the number of eyes on track and field certainly seems to have increased.

The American was initially expected to face a high-powered Jamaica trio of Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah, and Shericka Jackson at the Olympic Games, but ended up missing the top-billed event after picking up a one-month suspension for using marijuana.  At the event, Thompson-Herah broke the longstanding Olympic record with Fraser-Pryce second and Jackson third.

There was for Richardson and some fans, however, the sense of a missed opportunity and a much-hyped meeting of the American facing the Jamaica trio in Eugene two weeks later was presented in that light.  Things did not go as planned for Richardson, however, as she had plenty to say before the event but finished in last place.

The result was the same as the Olympics with Thompson-Herah finishing first, Fraser-Pryce second, and Jackson third.  However, it was Fraser-Pryce who went viral following the sprint as she was caught on camera passing an animated Richardson interview with a mirthful look and knowing smirk.  The fans had a field day, but she insists there wasn’t too much to it.

“I mean, seriously, it was just a look,” Fraser-Pryce told sports lifestyle magazine The Undefeated.

 “I was having a conversation with my teammate and she said something, and then I looked. But it wasn’t – it was just what it is. It was just a look, you know? It was just a look. Yeah. There was nothing more behind it, if I’m being very honest, there was nothing more behind it,” she added.

In her mind, the fiery mentality that the American brings to the sport is also good for track and field.

“I like her. I like her personality,” Fraser-Pryce said.

“…for us as women, we’re somehow supposed to just stand at the line, look cute and just run, [and] wave. We’re not allowed to express ourselves or show our emotions.”

As she looks forward to what could be her final race this season on the final day of the Diamond League season in Zurich on Thursday, double, double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah said she kind of surprised herself with the incredible success she has experienced this year.

Since she won her first sprint double in 2016, the first woman to do so since Florence Griffith-Joyner at the Seoul Games in 1988, Thompson-Herah failed to win a medal at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships. However, at the Toyko 2020 Olympics this past summer, Thompson-Herah became the first woman in Olympic history to win back-to-back sprint doubles.

She set a new Olympic record of 10.51 in the 100m and set a lifetime best of 21.53 to win the 200m titles. She added a third gold medal as a member of Jamaica’s 4x100m relay team that set a new national record of 41.02, the third-fastest time in history.

Weeks later she won the 100m at the Prefontaine Classic in 10.54, the second-fastest time ever run and then followed up with 10.64 to finish second to Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in Lausanne and then 10.72 in Paris.

Speaking at a press conference this morning before she takes to the track on Thursday, the history-making Olympic champion said she has not yet had time to take it all in.

“It hasn’t sunk it as yet. I think because I knew I had a long season I don’t want to get too carried away, too excited and the focus is still continuing the season for next year and the years to come. After the season ends I can say hurrah, hooray and I watch back my videos and see what I have done and say yes, I did it,” she said.

“Being the fastest woman alive, I think I still haven’t known what I have done yet. Because I have put in all the work and I have achieved, it is not something I never expect myself to do but my expectations were not high but I think I surprised myself this entire season with everything that I have done so far.”

On Thursday, Thompson-Herah will line up against Dina Asher-Smith, Natasha Morrison, Javianne Oliver, Daryll Neita, Marie Jose Ta Lou and the Swiss pair of Ajla Del Ponte and Mujinga Kambundji in the 100m.

Decorated Jamaica sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce will not compete in the final of the Wanda Diamond League in Zurich on Thursday.

The two-time 100m gold medallist had qualified for the 100m final, along with reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah and bronze medallist Shericka Jackson.  Since the Olympics, where Fraser-Pryce placed second, the trio has competed together in two 100m Diamond League events, in Eugene and Lausanne, with Jackson and Thompson-Herah going on to compete in a third in Paris.

At current, it is Fraser-Pryce who leads the qualifiers for the final of the 100m Diamond race with 28 points, tied with the Côte d'Ivoire’s Marie-Josée Ta Lou.  Thompson-Herah is third on 23.  However, Fraser-Pryce is not listed among the participants for Zurich and it has been confirmed that she will not compete.  Jackson, on the other hand, is only registered to compete in the 200m.

Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah have pushed each other to record-breaking performances this season and have recorded the fastest and second fastest times over the distance so far.  Thompson-Herah has clocked a best of 10.54, the second-fastest all time, with Fraser-Pryce next with 10.60.

Diamond League women’s 100m final (Entrants)

 GBR - ASHER-SMITH, Dina

SUI - DEL PONTE, Ajla

SUI- KAMBUNDJI, Mujinga

GBR- NEITA, Daryll

USA- OLIVER, Javianne

CIV - TA LOU, Marie-Josée

JAM - THOMPSON-HERAH, Elaine

Tokyo Olympics bronze medalist Ronald Levy and compatriots Stephenie-Ann McPherson and Shanieka Ricketts were among the winners on Sunday at the Meeting Citta di Padova in Italy where American Sha’Carri Richardson ended up on the podium in the 100m.

Levy, who ran 13.10 to win the bronze medal in the 110m hurdles at the Tokyo Olympics last month,  clocked 13.34 to win the event ahead of Italy’s Paolo Dal Molin.

The Italian clocked 13.45 while Brazil’s Rafael Pereira was third in 13.66.

McPherson, in her first race since she suffered an injury in the final of the 400m at the Olympics, ran a smart 50.78 for victory in the one-lapper. Authorised Neutral Athlete Polina Miller finished as the runner-up in a time of 50.96.

Junelle Bromfield made it a Jamaica 1-3 as she took third in 51.19.

Ricketts led a Caribbean 1-2-3 in the triple jump that she won with 14.74. Standout Dominican jumper Thea LaFond was second with her best effort of 14.57m while Cuba’s Liadagmis Povea took the final podium spot with 14.35.

Meanwhile, Sha’Carri Richardson, who has had more bark than bite in recent races, was a close second-place finisher in the 100m. The 21-year-old American, who was ninth in the 100m in Eugene last month and fourth over 200m in Brussels on September 3, clocked 11.19, the same time as winner Javianne Oliver.

It was an American 1-2-3 as Candace Hill finished third in 11.26. Olympic relay gold medalist Briana Williams finished fifth in a pedestrian 11.44.

Olympic medalists Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Hansle Parchment were impressive winners at the Continental Tour Gold meeting at the Stadion Slaski in Chorzow, Poland on Sunday.

Fraser-Pryce, the Olympic 100m silver medalist, who was running her first race since her lifetime best 10.60 in Lausanne, Switzerland on August 26, sped to a meet record 10.81 to win by daylight over Swiss athlete Mujinga Kambundji who stopped the clock at 11.08.

Great Britain’s Daryll Neita (11.15) was further back in third. Trinidad and Tobago’s Michelle-Lee Ahye ran 11.19 for fourth.

Parchment, the Olympic champion, recovered from an average start to overhaul Devon Allen and win in 13.26. Allen clipped the last hurdle but managed to finish second in 13.37 while Damion Thomas was third in 13.50.

The women’s sprint hurdles event was won by Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan in 12.64 ahead of Olympic bronze medalist Megan Tapper who clocked 12.75. The USA’s Christina Clemons was third in 12.92.

Jaheel Hyde ended up on the podium after finished third in the 400m hurdles in 48.89. Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos was an easy winner in 48.50 over Turkey’s Yasmani Copello, who ran 48.80.

Candace McLeod, a finalist over 400m in Tokyo finished third in the 400m. Among the leaders up to 300m, the Jamaican faded to third clocking 51.88. The Polish pair of Natalia Kaczmarec and Anna Keilbasinska took the top two places in 50.70 and 51.19, respectively.

Meanwhile, Anderson Peters threw 83.61m for a second-place finish in the men’s javelin throw. However, he was no match for Germany’s Johannes Vetter, who flung the spear 89.60m for victory.

Fedrick Dacres took third place in the men’s discus. He threw a best mark of 64.91m that was bettered by Lithuania’s Andrius Gudzious (65.89m) and Slovenia’s Kristjan Ceh (66.65m)

Andre Degrasse was an easy winner in the 200m in 20.21. His compatriot Jerome Blake took second place in 20.32. Olympic relay gold medalist Filippo Tortu was third in 20.40.

Eighteen-year-old Christine Mboma topped a talented field of women over 200m at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Friday when Natoya Goule closed out the action on the track by winning the 800m.

The marquee event, however, was the 200m and it lived up to expectations.

The Namibian, the Olympic silver medalist and World U20 champion, running on from behind, surged past Shericka Jackson with 30m to go and won in 21.84. Jackson was again under 22 seconds, clocking 21.95 while Dina Asher-Smith finished third in a season-best 22.03.

The much-talked-about Sha’Carri Richardson was never a factor. She trailed off the curve and was passed down the stretch by Mboma and Asher-Smith to finish fourth in 22.45.

Mboma was elated at getting her first Diamond League win.

“I was really excited to run here in Brussels. It was my first Diamond League experience and to be able to win in such a strong field is great,” she said.

“It has been a very tough and busy season with the Olympics and the World junior championships, but I'm still in good shape. I ran almost a personal best today, so that pleases me. I still have one race to go in Zurich and after that, I will take some rest.”

Jackson, meantime, was disappointed at not winning enjoyed the competition.

“I´m happy with my race but I really wanted to win today,” she said.

“I had a good start so I´m happy with that but there´s still room for improvement. I was able to accelerate towards the end but couldn´t get the win. I loved to race here and the feeling was good.”

Similarly, Asher-Smith was happy with her season-best.

“I´m so happy with my race! I ran a season's best and had a good feeling. It felt so good to be here and to be able to run this fast,” said the Brit, who was unable to compete in the 200m because of a hamstring injury.

“I worked so hard after my injury to return and feel strong again. I really love to run here in Brussels. I still have a few races to go so I hope I can improve myself and feel good. The relaxed feeling is back so I´m very happy with that.”

Goule, a finalist at the Tokyo Olympics, ran a strategic race behind the pacemaker but then assumed the lead with 300m to go.

She would hold that lead until the end to win her first Diamond League race in 1:58.09, holding off Great Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, who clocked 1:58.16 for second place. Jemma Reekie also of Great Britain was third in 1:58.77.

´I’m extremely happy with my win today! I´m just so excited and happy to win my first Diamond League race,” she said.

“I have to thank God and my coach for believing in me. To race here today, especially against these girls. They are all so strong. I have a lot of respect for Keely Hodgkinson. She´s so good and humble, a very good athlete and still so young. So I´m very happy I could still sprint and take the win. The big crowd today definitely helped with that. You just feel everyone´s excitement for today. I hope I can win in Zurich as well but it will be hard.”

Earlier, Megan Tapper was third in the 100m hurdles but there was misfortune for Danielle Williams, who appeared to suffer an injury and limped across the line in eighth. She was eventually disqualified.

Tapper, the Olympic bronze medalist, got off to a fast start but was eventually caught by Tobi Amusan and Nadine Visser, who crossed the line together and were credited with 12.69. Tapper clocked 12.77 for her second podium finish in the Diamond League this season.

There was no Karsten Warholm or Rai Benjamin in the 400m hurdles but it was no less dramatic as Brazil’s Alison Dos Santos and the British Virgin Islands’ Kyron McMaster engaged in a stirring battle that the latter looked like winning after seven hurdles.

However, the Brazilian eased into the lead over the final hurdle and held it to win in 48.24. McMaster finished second in 48.31.

Jaheel Hyde was in position to finish on the podium but seemed to run out of steam down the stretch and was unable to hold off a fast-finishing Yasmani Copello of Turkey, who took third in 48.45. Hyde had to settle for fourth in 48.91.

The men’s 400m was won by American Michael Cherry in a new personal best and meet record 44.03 leaving Kirani James (44.51) and Isaac Makwala (44.83) in his wake.

The Women’s 200m at the Diamond League meeting in Brussels on Friday promises to be an electric affair as it features a few of the fastest women in the event in the world this year.

The world’s fastest woman Elaine Thompson (21.53) is a late withdrawal but the field is still stacked.

It features firebrand American Sha’Carri Richardson,  Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson as well as Olympic silver medalist and World U20 champion Christine Mboma of Namibia, both of whom have run faster over the half-lap sprint than the upstart American.

 The 18-year-old Mboma ran a lifetime best 21.81 for the silver medal in Tokyo and 21.82 to win the World U20 title in Kenya last month. She will prove to be a handful not just for the American but also for the Olympic 100m silver medalist Shericka Jackson, who ran a personal best 21.82 in June.

However, in a pre-meet media conference on Friday, Richardson, who will be running on fresher legs, said she hopes to go below her previous best.

“I feel like a baby in such a company because a lot of ladies have a time of 21 seconds behind their name. I get into the starting blocks with the same eagerness for a 200m as I do for a 100m, so hopefully, I can prove that with a fast chrono. My coach and I are also working very hard to excel in both distances, so I'm really looking forward to diving under 22 seconds,” said Richardson whose personal best is 22.00 but has a season-best time of 22.11 run in Gainesville, Florida in April.

She might very well need to, if she is to win, because also included in the line-up is the reigning European champion Dina Asher-Smith, who hampered by a hamstring injury, was forced to withdraw from the event at the Tokyo Olympics last month.

However, the Briton, who is gradually returning to full health, ran a season-best 22.06 in Italy in June and will be hoping to get close to that time after a promising 22.19 for third in Eugene, Oregon on August 21.

Olympic finalist Beatrice Masilingi is also included in the line-up. The Namibian teenager, the sixth-place finisher at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, ran a personal best 22.18 for the silver medal behind at the World U20 Championships in Kenya last month.

Jamaica track and field star Elaine Thompson-Herah has made it clear she is more than satisfied with her accomplishments for this season, without breaking Florence Griffith-Joyner’s longstanding record.

On Saturday, it was a familiar sight as the Jamaican coasted to the line in a time of 10.72, fast by any standards, except perhaps her own recent lofty achievements.

Thompson-Herah clocked 10.61 to claim the 100m at the Olympics, but it was a 10.54 clocking two weeks later that set tongues really wagging as the mark was just 0.5 seconds outside of the American’s immortal time.  For now, however, the Jamaican is happy to be healthy and more than content with her achievements so far.

“I am thankful I crossed the line healthy. I am already in the books, so I am happy about that. I am just focusing on myself - on my start, on my execution and to be confident,” Thompson-Herah said.

“Obviously, it is more about the time after all these events and my health always comes first. I know everybody is thinking I am targeting the world record, and... I know it is close but for this season I am already super happy."

At the Lausanne Diamond League on Thursday, Thompson-Herah finished second in 10.64, an unfamiliar position in recent weeks but it was her decorated compatriot Fraser-Pryce who clocked a new personal best 10.60 for first place.  For her part, she believes it would have been nice to have her compatriot and fiercest competitor in Paris.

"It is a pity that she is not here, because we push each other to be better. She is the only athlete on the planet who can approach 10.5,” Thompson said ahead of the race.

Jamaica double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah recorded another comfortable victory at the Paris Diamond League meet, on Saturday, marking a second win from three events since her triumph in Toyko.

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 7^th 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.

The Jamaican duo of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Elaine Thompson-Herah continue to push the boundaries of women’s sprinting with yet another blistering performance at the Lausanne Diamond League meet on Thursday.

Thompson-Herah became the second female sprinter to legally dip below the 10.7 seconds barrier on three occasions, joining American world record holder Florence Griffith-Joyner.

On Thursday, Thompson-Herah finished in second place behind Fraser-Pryce, but still clocked the joint seventh fastest time ever recorded over the distance with 10.64.  Fraser-Pryce took the event in a new personal best 10.60, the third-fastest ever run over the distance.

Thompson-Herah’s time adds to an impressive collection this season, which also saw her claim Olympic gold in 10.61 and run the second fastest time ever recorded over the distance, 10.54, set at the Prefontaine Classic last week.

Griffith-Joyner legally cracked the 10.7s barrier thrice in 1988, clocking 10.49 to set the current world record and clocking 10.62 and 10.61 at the Seoul Olympics.  Fraser-Pryce’s time sees her now achieving the feat twice, having clocked 10.63 earlier this season.

American Carmelita Jeter also broke the 10.7s barrier twice, registering times of 10.67 and 10.64 in 2009.  Marion Jones, who clocked 10.65 in 1998 is the only other athlete in history to be represented on the list.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran a new lifetime best to turn the tables on Elaine Thompson-Herah and win the 100m dash at the Diamond League meeting in Lausanne on Thursday.

World Championship medalist Jura Levy was among four individuals to be inducted into the Oklahoma Baptist Hall of Fame on September 17, Oklahoma Baptist University Athletics Department on Monday.

Jamaica sprint sensation, Elaine Thompson-Herah, insists breaking Florence Griffith-Joyner’s longstanding record isn’t a target but believes it remains very much within reach.

Thompson-Herah demanded the world sit up and take notice when she eclipsed another longstanding record held by the American at the Olympics a few weeks ago.

The Jamaican’s 10.61, winning time at the Games, run into a -0.6 wind erased Florence-Joyner’s 1988 Olympic record of 10.62.  Just a few weeks later, however, and the athlete obliterated that mark, clocking 10.54 in another dominant showing against a quality field, this time in Eugene, Oregon at the Prefontaine Classic.

This time the wind speed recorded for the race was +0.9.  Now, only Griffith-Joyner’s mark of 10.49 remains on the horizon and there is little doubt, for the first time in decades, it could be eclipsed.

"Going to Prefontaine there was no intention of breaking that record," Thompson-Herah said.

"It was a normal race day and I came out if with a PB after a tiring championship,” she added.

"10.5 is definitely in my reach but I wouldn't say it's a target right now.

"On a perfect day and perfect weather, if I get that, I would definitely challenge it.”

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce concedes that Elaine Thompson-Herah is much closer to the 100m world record than she is but says that it good that women are now able to challenge the 33-year-old standard set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner.

The Tokyo Olympics 100m silver medalist was speaking at a press conference Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s Diamond League meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she, Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson will once again line up for the 100m in a field that also includes local talents Mujinga Kamnundji, Ajla del Ponte and Marie Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast.

Talk of the world record heated up last weekend when Thompson-Herah sped to a world-leading and personal best 10.54 while winning the blue-riband dash at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. The time is only 0.05s off the world record of 10.49.

Fraser-Pryce, who ran a personal best of 10.63 in June, believes that the world record is now being challenged is a boon for the sport and women’s sprinting.

“As for running the world record, Elaine is much, much closer than I am so it’s good to be able to challenge a record that for women that for a long time we thought was impossible,” she told media gathered for the press conference,” and it speaks to the evolution of sprinting and what mechanics can do to sprinting and the different things that are involved in sprinting, so to be able to be in that conversation or to have that conversation is truly remarkable.”

Fraser-Pryce, who ran 10.73 while finishing second to Thompson-Herah in Eugene, expressed optimism that fast times – maybe even the world record - can be achieved on the track in Lausanne on Thursday.

“I know that Lausanne has a very good track; I ran 10.7 here in 2019 after coming off a plane, so I know it’s a very good track. So, hopefully, tomorrow the ladies will have a superb race and we will see how it goes at the end.”