Sha'Carri Richardson set for gruelling battle against world leaders Jacious Sears and McKenzie Long at U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials

Sha'Carri Richardson, the 100m reigning World champion, will be in contention with standout athletes, McKenzie Long and Jacious Sears, the collegiate sprinters, at the USATF Olympic Trials, slated for June 21 at Hayward Field.

Richardon, the 100m and 4x100m relay champion at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, is currently on the run for the Paris Olympics. She started her 2024 200m season at the Xiamen Diamond League, clocking 22.99s to finish second.

Soon after, at the Shanghai Diamond League, she clocked 23.11s to finish third. However, the tables turned when she stepped into the 2024 Eugene Diamond League, dubbed Prefontaine Classic. Running a blistering speed of 10.83s in the 100m, she secured a comfortable victory, outpacing her 2021 US Olympic Trials' time.

In recent news, Sha'Carri Richardson confirmed her participation in the 100m and 200m at the USATF Olympic Team Trials. The participation of McKenzie Long and Jacious Sears in the same events also surfaced.

Sears, the University of Tennessee athlete etched her name in the record book after running in a time of 10.77s, the fastest women's 100m time in the world this year. The feat was just 0.02s shy of Sha'Carri Richardson's collegiate 100m record time.

McKenzie Long has been a standout in the 2024 NCAA season, having won triple gold podiums (100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay) for Ole Miss track and field's sprint group at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Championships. Despite losing her mother before her Championship stint, Long persevered and made her way to people's hearts and record books.

She ran the 100m in 10.91s and the 200m in 21.83s. Long's winning time in the 200m placed her at No. 10 in US history.

"It pays off in that moment" - Sha'Carri Richardson on how she perceives the Olympic winning moment

Sha'Carri Richardson couldn't compete in the Tokyo Olympic finals since she was suspended for a month due to a doping ban. She was tested positive for THC metabolites, and alleged for using cannabis. Having lost her biological mother at that time, she talked about using cannabis to cope.

Since the 2023 Worlds, the 24-year-old has been in top form. In an interview with NBC, she said that Paris would be an occasion where all the training and good wishes would pay off.

"What would it mean to make it to Paris? Just literally all the training, all of the support, all of the naysayers, it pays off. It pays off in that moment when you realize when you made that Olympic team."

The eight-day-long USATF Team Trials will open its gates on June 21, 2024.