TOKYO (Kashmir English): Sha’Carri Richardson, Olympic 100m silver medalist, finished fourth in 11.47sec in her season opener in Tokyo on Sunday, four months before the world championships are held in the same stadium.
Australia’s Bree Rizzo won in 11.38sec with the American (Sha’Carri Richardson), who ran with strapping on her lower right leg, running slow out of the blocks and never led the Golden Grand Prix women’s 100m.
American Twanisha Terry, fifth in last year’s Olympics, finished second in 11.42 followed by Canada’s Sade McCreath in 11.46.
Tokyo to host World championship in September
World champion Richardson will be defending her title in the Japanese capital in September.
“It’s a season-opener for those athletes and they will be very, very strong come the world championships,” said Rizzo.
“I really look up to those athletes so to come out on top was pretty exciting for an Australian athlete.”
Richardson’s boyfriend and training partner, Christian Coleman, finished third in the men’s 100m in a time of 10.11sec.
Japan’s Hiroki Yanagita won the race in 10.06 while American Christian Miller finished second in 10.08.
“Each race, every opportunity I have is more of a mental, internal battle for me to get better,” said Coleman, the 2019 100m world champion. “I felt some good things today and I want to just keep getting better at it.”
Yaroslava Mahuchikh, Ukraine’s world and Olympic champion, won the women’s high jump with a leap of 1.96m, far below her world record of 2.10m.
In April, she also won at both Diamond League meetings in China at Xiamen and Shanghai/Keqiao.
“I’m satisfied with this competition,” said Mahuchikh. “Of course, the result is not good but I’m happy with that because my body is not ready to jump high today.”
with a throw of 64.16m, Japan’s world and Olympic champion Haruka Kitaguchi won the women’s javelin.
Robert Gregory of the USA won the men’s 200m in 20.24sec ahead of Canada’s Andre De Grasse, who won gold at the same stadium at the pandemic-postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
