Shericka Jackson Scratches, Gabby Thomas Cruises: Day 3 Paris Morning Recap

The stars were out on Sunday morning as medal favorites Gabby Thomas, Grant Holloway, and Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone made their Paris Olympics debuts. Meanwhile, Julien Alfred and Femke Bol were back on the track less than 24 hours after earning gold medals in yesterday’s evening session. However, not every star had a banner day. Two-time World Champion Shericka Jackson scratched from the Women’s 200m, her second event scratch of the week.

Shericka Jackson Scratches in Women’s 200m

The much-anticipated women’s 200m had an unexpected shakeup Sunday morning, as top contender Shericka Jackson of Jamaica scratched as the Round 1 heats got underway. 

Widely regarded as the favorite for the event if healthy, Jackson is a two-time defending World Champion in the event.

On Wednesday, Jackson announced she was pulling out of the Women’s 100m.

Jackson’s most recent competition was at the Hungarian Athletics Grand Prix on July 9 where she pulled up in 200m. Her representation said at the time that it was due to a hamstring cramp.

While Jackson, was the big surprise of the round, there were no big surprises on the track as top contenders all got through easily.

Less than 14 hours after her thrilling gold medal win in the women’s 100m, Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia was back on the track and looked just as strong in the 200m. Alfred won Heat 1 in 22.41. After the race in the mixed zone, Alfred told the media she only got two hours of sleep last night.

American Gabby Thomas, the bronze medalist in the event in Tokyo 2020, cruised to a Heat 2 victory in 22.20.

NCAA 100m and 200m champion McKenzie Long won her Olympic debut in Heat 4 in 22.95.

Thomas’ and Long’s Team USA teammate Brittany Brown ensured that all three Americans made it through to the Semi-Final by winning Heat 5 in 22.38.

In a tight Heat 6, Nigeria’s Favour Ofili overtook Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith to win. Asher-Smith got out first and ran a good turn, but Ofili in lane 2 moved ahead coming into the homestretch. Ofili ran a Season Best 22.24, just ahead of Asher-Smith’s 22.28.

Epic Showdown Coming in Women’s 400m Hurdles

One of the most anticipated events of this Games, the Women’s 400m Hurdles, got underway Sunday morning. This was the first step on the road to a likely Finals showdown between the two best to ever do it in the event, American Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Femke Bol of Netherlands. 

While McLaughlin-Levrone and Bol delivered in their heats, two American athletes also performed well.

American Jasmine Jones, the second-fastest collegiate hurdler of all-time (after McLaughlin-Levrone) won Heat 2 in 53.60.

Jones got out hard and was able shut it down on the homestretch and cruise to the win.

Fellow American Anna Cockrell took Heat 4 by by nearly a second, clocking 53.91 for the win.

Bol showed everyone what kind of shape she is in with her epic close on the anchor leg of the 4x400m mixed relay last night to clinch gold for Netherlands. Her 47.93 split was third fastest women’s 4x400m relay leg in history.

She picked up where she left off in today’s session, running controlled and relaxed and doing just enough to win the heat -Bol’s 51.38 was the fastest time of the day. 

World-record holder and reigning Olympic champion Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone ran a seemingly effortless 53.60 to close out the first round.

Bol and McLaughlin-Levrone have combined to run the 22 fastest times in the history of the event. Training and competing primarily on different continents, the two stars do not match up often. Speculation abounds that an inevitable clash in the Final could lead to a new world record.

Freddie Crittenden Makes “Strategic” Use of Repechage Round

In the Men’s 110m Hurdles First Round, American Freddie Crittenden made what he called a “strategic” use of the Repechage Round in his Round 1 performance. Crittenden came out of the blocks slowly and completed the race at a leisurely pace. He told NBC after the race that he felt a “tweak” pre-race and chose to focus on the Repechage Round rather than risk more serious injury by pushing through the pain in the opening round. Crittenden said he decided to give his body more time for rest and treatment and indicated he plans to go “all out” on Tuesday.

Fellow American Daniel Roberts was slow out of the blocks in Heat 3 but recovered to edge his way to a automatic qualifier spot. Roberts finished third in the heat. Second place and fifth place in the heat were separated by 0.009 seconds.

Extending his recent dominance, Grant Holloway was easily the fastest qualifier. Holloway burst out of the blocks and showed strong composure and execution to run 13.01. Holloway’s time was 0.2 seconds faster than the second fastest time of the day.

Unceremonious Exit for Team USA in Men’s Long Jump

It was a tough morning for the U.S. Men’s Long Jump team as all three athletes, Jarrion Lawson, Jeremiah Davis, Malcolm Clemons, failed to advance to the Final. Both just 22 years old, Davis and Clemons were competing in their first global championship and likely gained valuable experience for their development in the sport. 

Although a 30-year-old veteran, Lawson was competing in his first global championship since the 2017 World Championships in London. Lawson was unable to get a mark, scratching on all three jumps.

Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglou, the defending Olympics and World Championships gold medalist, achieved the longest mark, 8.32.