Jamaican sprinter Shericka Jackson pulled out of the women’s 200 meters Sunday and will not race for an individual medal at the Paris Games.
Jackson, the defending world champion who is the second-fastest woman of all time in the 200, had previously withdrawn from the 100 meters, saying it was partly because of a leg injury she suffered in a tuneup race last month. It is unclear why she pulled out of Sunday’s race.
It turns American Gabby Thomas into the clear favorite to win the 200. Thomas cruised through her qualifying heat in 22.20 seconds, as did Julien Alfred, who returned to the track and ran 22.41 about 13 hours after beating Sha’Carri Richardson in the 100 meters.
Jackson’s exit deals yet another blow to the Jamaican women, a perennial Olympic powerhouse that had captured 15 of the 24 Olympic medals in the 100 and 200 between 2008 and 2021.
All three sprinters from Jamaica’s 100-meter sweep in Tokyo have been absent in Paris. Elaine Thompson-Herah, the 100 and 200-meter champion, shut down her season earlier this year with an Achilles tendon injury.
Only minutes before Saturday night’s 100 semifinal, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce pulled out with an undisclosed injury, saying on social media “it is difficult for me to find the words to express my disappointment.”
Jackson, who won last year’s world championships in 21.41 — only .07 off Florence Griffith Joyner’s 36-year-old world record — ran a pedestrian 22.29 at her country’s Olympic trials in June.
Then, in a race in Hungary on July 9, she pulled up before the finish of a 200-meter race, leaving her form in doubt with the Olympics less than a month away.
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AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
