Eugene (United States) (AFP) – Reigning 100m world champions Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles cruised through their opening heats at the USA Track and Field trials on Thursday as they build towards the defence of their global titles at September’s World Championships. Both Richardson and Lyles have already booked their tickets to Tokyo due to their status as reigning champions, but are using this week’s meeting at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, to hone their form.
The charismatic Richardson finished ninth at the Prefontaine Classic at Eugene earlier in July in a modest time of 11.19 sec. But the 25-year-old Texan indicated she is making progress after finishing second in her heat in a time of 11.07 sec, behind Kayla White in 10.89 sec. Richardson’s time was the 11th fastest of the opening heats, where Melissa Jefferson-Wooden impressed running 10.86 sec into a 1.5 m/s headwind.
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“Felt amazing to run a qualifying, show fitness and take the rest of the time to get ready for Tokyo,” said Richardson, adding that she is comfortable competing while knowing that her World Championship berth is assured. “USA is one of the hardest teams to make, so it definitely is a kind of a release of pressure knowing I have a bye,” she told AFP. “It feels really good to not have that pressure and still be able to go to Tokyo.”
– ‘Under the radar’ –
Richardson meanwhile is relaxed about the fact she will head to Tokyo with other sprinters likely ahead of her in the betting stakes. “Right now I’m cruising under the radar, but when it’s time to hit — it’s gonna be a bang where y’all see my name,” she said. In the men’s 100m, meanwhile, Richardson’s fellow world champion Lyles won his heat in 10.05 sec, the fifth fastest time of the first round.
Lyles told reporters he is using this weekend to get as much racing under his belt as possible, even though he was under no obligation to run given his bye. “I need races — everybody knows I started the season late due to injury,” said Lyles, who was beaten in his first 100m of the season at the London Diamond League on July 19. “I just need as many races as possible. After the 100 in London, me and my coach were like ‘We might as well (race at trials)’. It’s a free race, it’s good competition.”
Lyles, though, said he has seen encouraging signs that he is rounding back to full fitness. “I just need more races — I’ve got to get the engine firing and get that urgency into my body,” Lyles said. “But that was just my second 100 of the year; I can’t really be mad at that.” Potentially the biggest threat to Lyles on Friday could come in the shape of Kenny Bednarek, the two-time Olympic 200m silver medallist who posted the quickest time of Thursday’s heats in 9.95 sec.
In the women’s 800m, Tokyo Olympic champion Athing Mu-Nikolayev qualified for the next round second fastest in 2 min 0.06 sec. In early field events, Olympic women’s long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall flirted with disaster before sealing a roller coaster victory to punch her ticket to Tokyo. Davis-Woodhall fouled on her first two jumps but regrouped to rattle off two world-leading leaps in quick succession to win her event.
Davis-Woodhall was trailing Claire Bryant through three jumps, with Bryant just ahead after a leap of 6.97 m. But Davis-Woodhall moved into first with her fourth jump, a world-leading 7.11 m, and then bettered that mark with a jump of 7.12 m.
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