Sha'Carri Richardson vs Elaine Thompson-Herah: A look at the sprinting rivalry as the world champions go head to head at Prefontaine Classic 2024

As we head into Prefontaine Classic 2024, one of the most anticipated battles of the day will be the face-off between Sha'Carri Richardson and Elaine Thompson-Herah. The World Champions are two of the fastest women in the world, and this marks the first time they clash swords this Olympic year.

Going into the Classic, Sha'Carri Richardson is the reigning 100m World Champion, having clinched the title in Budapest last year. Racing in Eugene, the American will have the advantage of the home ground and a large crowd cheering her onto victory.

The duo have only ever run in the 100m distance against each other, and in terms of head-to-heads, Thompson-Herah leads the count between the two, having won three of their five encounters. Interestingly enough, all the three times that the Jamaican has reigned supreme over her rival came at previous versions of the Prefontaine Classic.

Sha'Carri Richardson and Elaine Thompson-Herah had their first meeting at the 2021 Classic. There, it was the latter that raced to the victory with a 10.54, while the former missed the podium entirely, clocking an 11.14 to finish ninth. Their next encounter came in 2022 in the same competition. This time around the duo clocked a 1-2 finish, Thompson-Herah in first with a 10.79, and Richardson on her tail with a 10.92.

It was in the third meeting between the two that the American finally claimed a win over the reigning 100 and 200m Olympic Champion. Racing at the Spitzen Leichtathletik in August of 2022, Richardson reversed their one-two finish from the Classic, taking the win just 0.01 seconds ahead of the Jamaican.

Sha'Carri Richardson and Elaine Thompson-Herah’s next clash came exactly a year later, in Weltklasse Zurich. Fresh off of being crowned the 100m World Champion, the then 23-year-old got the better of her rival for the second consecutive time, dipping under the 10-second mark for the win, while Thompson-Herah settled for bronze.

The American and Jamaican battled it out once again just fifteen days later at the 2024 Prefontaine Classic. While neither was able to clinch gold, Thompson-Herah did manage to edge out Richardson by 0.01 second as they finished third and fourth.

In terms of personal bests, the Jamaican is not only the faster sprinter in the 100m, she also holds better times over the 60 and 200m distances. She is the fastest woman alive in the 100m with a time of 10.54, while she holds a personal best of 21.53 in the 200m. She also won the 100m and 200m golds at the Rio Olympics, and defended both her titles successfully in Tokyo.

Meanwhile, Sha'Carri Richardson's wind-legal 100m personal best is a 10.65, while her 20pm record is a 21.92. She is the sixth fastest woman ever in the history of the 100m distance.

Sha'Carri Richardson vs Elaine Thompson-Herah: When and how to watch the sprinters' battle at the Prefontaine Classic 2024

The women's 100m clash at the Prefontaine Classic 2024 is scheduled to be one of the last events of the day. The race will begin at 2:42 PM ET at Hayward Field and is a part of the Eugene Diamond League events as well.

Fans in America eager to catch the showdown between Sha'Carri Richardson and Elaine Thompson-Herah can tune into NBC Sports for a live stream of the entire meet. For those hoping to watch this electric battle live, tickets can be purchased from the official event website.

For the sprinters, this marks their first showdown in over seven months and fans will be curious if Richardson will finally be able to break her streak of losing to Thompson-Herrah on home ground.