Sha'Carri Richardson Fails to Reach 200m Finals at US Track and Field Championships
Jun 26, 2022
EUGENE, OREGON - JUNE 25: Sha'Carri Richardson competes in the women's 200 meter first round during the 2022 USATF Outdoor Championships at Hayward Field on June 25, 2022 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Sha'Carri Richardson failed to qualify for the 2022 World Athletics Championships after she was unable to advance past the semifinal stage of the 200-meter dash at the USA Track & Field Outdoor Championships on Sunday.
Richardson posted a time of 22.47, which was 10th-best from the two semifinal heats. The 22-year-old wasn't in a mood to talk to reporters following the race.
No comment from Sha’Carri Richardson after failing to qualify for the World Championships in the 200m pic.twitter.com/4oEWxtTGRG
The same scene unfolded Thursday after Richardson couldn't make it out of the first round in the 100-meter dash. She placed 23rd overall among the 31 runners with a time of 11.31.
In the mixed zone, Richardson briskly made her way through without answering any questions.
Wow. Sha’Carri Richardson fails to advance in the 100m, 5th place in her heat. Here’s how she interacted with media in the mixed zone. pic.twitter.com/OYaO6WvLxB
A national champion at LSU, Richardson ran her way onto the U.S. Olympic team for the 2021 Summer Olympics in Tokyo after winning the 100 meters at the U.S. trials. However, a positive marijuana test ended her bid for Tokyo.
Richardson returned to competition in the 2021 Prefontaine Classic and made headlines more for what she said than what she did on the track.
The Texas native wound up in last place in a star-studded field for the 100 meters.
After the race, she delivered an interview straight out of WWE as she told all of her doubters to "talk all the s--t you want" and insisted she wasn't going anywhere.
With the U.S. championships on the horizon, Richardson raised expectations when she ran the 200-meters in 22.38 seconds at the NYC Grand Prix.
Instead, the U.S. championships went about as poorly as they could've.
There's still a lot of time for Richardson to improve, but her performance in Eugene, Oregon, this week is bound to raise questions about whether she can qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris when the time comes.
OK State Wrestler AJ Ferrari, Runner Isai Rodriguez Seriously Injured in Car Crash
Jan 25, 2022
ST LOUIS, MO - MARCH 20: AJ Ferrari of the Oklahoma State Cowboys wrestles Nino Bonaccorsi of the Pittsburgh Panthers in the 197lb weight class during the Division I Mens Wrestling Championship held at the Enterprise Center on March 20, 2021 in St Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Scott Rovak/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
Two Oklahoma State athletes, wrestler
AJ Ferrari and distance runner Isai Rodriguez, were injured in a car
crash Monday night near Perkins, Oklahoma.
ESPN's Dave Wilson reported Tuesday the
Oklahoma Highway Patrol said a vehicle driven by Ferrari "attempted
to pass three vehicles while cresting a hill," which led to a
crash with an oncoming car that caused Ferrari's SUV to overturn
multiple times before landing in a ditch. Rodriguez was a passenger in the vehicle.
Both Ferrari and Rodriguez are in fair
condition at separate hospitals. The driver of the other vehicle,
Valenda McKee, was not injured in the crash, per Wilson. Officers said all three were wearing their seatbelts.
Oklahoma State told ESPN neither
athlete is dealing with life-threatening injuries.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol listed the
cause of the crash as "passing in a no-passing zone," but
it's unclear whether criminal charges will be filed in the case.
Robert Allen of Pokes Report noted
Cowboys football offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn was a witness to
the crash and helped remove Ferrari from the SUV after it caught fire.
Ferrari most recently competed Sunday
when he scored a 12-2 win over JT Davis as part of OSU's victory over
Lehigh. He's the reigning NCAA champion in the 197-pound weight class
and signed a name, image and likeness (NIL) deal with WWE in
December.
Rodriguez helped the Oklahoma State
men's track and field team win the Big 12 cross country championships in
October with a second-place finish in the 8K. He finished 22nd in the 10K at the
NCAA championships in November as OSU finished third as a team.
Former Oregon Athletes Allege Body-Shaming Within Women's Track and Field Program
Oct 26, 2021
Runners compete in the men's 10,000 meters during the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Wednesday, June 9, 2021, at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)
Six women who competed within Oregon's track and field program told Ken Goe of The Oregonian that "they felt devalued as individuals and at risk for eating disorders because of the program's data-driven approach to their weight and body fat percentages."
Oregon promoted Robert Johnson from associate coach to head coach in 2012. Goe reported the school has used more advanced techniques to measure the vitals of athletes, including a DEXA scan that gives more exact measurements for bone density and body fat percentage.
"DEXA scans, in particular, have become a flashpoint for some athletes, who say the precise body fat percentage measurements can trigger unhealthy behaviors," Goe wrote.
Johnson said the more analytically inclined system "largely removes human bias from judgments about athletes" and helps the coaches configure individual workouts.
However, Goe reported a 2020 Oregon graduate reached out to deputy athletic director Lisa Peterson in October 2020 to say some of the then-current track and field athletes were starving themselves in order to get the right measurement on their DEXA scans.
One former athlete told Goe she started binge-eating at night.
Another former athlete told Goe that Johnson once asked her if she was on birth control because he said he "noticed your hips have gotten wider, and that comes along with that kind of stuff."
Goe reported the women were concerned about coming forward because of Oregon's longstanding connection with Nike and USA Track & Field.
"There are people who would lose their ability to go to the Pre Classic or lose USATF funding, because speaking up against him is like speaking up against basically USA Track & Field," said one woman who also described Johnson as a "terrifyingly powerful man."
Similar allegations followed Alberto Salazar, who was in charge of the Nike Oregon Project. Mary Cain first revealed the extent of the team's toxic and unhealthy environment. Sports Illustrated's Chris Chavez followed up to report how "female athletes' bodies were fair game to be demeaned publicly."
Heptathlete Lindsay Flach Competed in U.S. Olympic Trials While Pregnant
Jun 29, 2021
EUGENE, OREGON - JUNE 27: Lindsay Flach walks from the track after dropping out of the Women's Heptathlon 800 Meters during day ten of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 27, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Cliff Hawkins/Getty Images)
Lindsay Flach announced on Instagram on Friday that she would compete at the U.S. Olympic Trials in the heptathlon while 18 weeks pregnant.
"It was hard mentally because I knew I wasn't going to be able to compete at the level I was capable of 18 weeks ago, but I just wanted to prove what women are capable of," she told Jeff Eisenberg of Yahoo Sports. "To end one chapter and begin another on my terms was amazing."
Flach said that she found out about her pregnancy in March and asked her doctor if it would be safe to continue training. She received the doctor's blessing to do so in moderation, under the condition that she would avoid big falls and pay attention to warning signs her body might provide.
"My big concern was making sure that I was healthy and the baby was healthy," she said.
She said her pregnancy had not been easy.
"My pregnancy was very rough to start," she told Eisenberg. "I had about 12 weeks of bad vomiting, which affected my training. If the Olympic Trials were three weeks ago, I don't know that I would have been there, but I started to feel better and I was able to get some really good practices in."
The 31-year-old had planned to chase a spot on the United States team one last time before starting a family with her new husband. But when the COVID-19 pandemic postponed the Tokyo Olympics, Flach decided she didn't want to put the rest of her life on hold for her dream.
"It was bittersweet," Flach told Yahoo Sports of finding out she was pregnant. "I was really excited because I've always wanted kids, but it was also a shock knowing that just like that, my track career was over."
Flach wanted to compete one last time, but she didn't push herself at the Trials.
She modified her steps for the hurdles to ensure she wouldn't fall. She cleared only one height in the high jump to ensure she didn't hurt herself. She ran just the first 100 meters of the 800-meter event to avoid overly taxing herself in Sunday's intense heat in Eugene, Oregon. And she made just one attempt each in the shot put and long jump, per Eisenberg.
She finished last. But she became one of the best stories of the Trials simply by competing.
Video: Watch Sydney McLaughlin Break 400m Hurdles World Record at U.S. Olympic Trials
Jun 28, 2021
EUGENE, OREGON - JUNE 27: Sydney McLaughlin celebrates winning the Women's 400 Meters Hurdles Final during day ten of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 27, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
Sydney McLaughlin, welcome to the record books.
The 400-meter hurdles runner not only set the world record at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on Sunday night with a time of 51.9 seconds, she also became the first woman in history to ever run under 52 seconds.
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 28, 2021
The previous record of 52.16 seconds was set by 2016 Olympics gold medalist Dalilah Muhammad‘s at the 2019 World Championships. Muhammad finished in second on Sunday night (52.42 seconds) and Anna Cockrell was third (53.70). All three women qualified for the Tokyo Games.
As for McLaughlin, she credited a coaching change from Joanna Hayes to Bobby Kersee in part for her record run.
“It’s truly just faith and trusting the process. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” she said on the NBC broadcast. “I’m really happy I chose to go with [Kersee].”
USA Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson Says Her Biological Mother Died Last Week
Jun 20, 2021
EUGENE, OREGON - JUNE 19: Sha'Carri Richardson celebrates winning the Women's 100 Meter final on day 2 of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Team Trials at Hayward Field on June 19, 2021 in Eugene, Oregon. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
After earning a spot on the United States Olympic track and field team Saturday, Sha'Carri Richardson went public with the news that her mother recently died.
According to ESPN's D'Arcy Maine, Richardson said the following after winning the women's 100-meter dash at the Olympic trials in Eugene, Oregon: "My family has kept me grounded. This year has been crazy for me. Going from just last week, losing my biological mother, and I'm still here."
Richardson, 21, starred collegiately at LSU and is set to make her Olympic debut in Tokyo this summer.
On the heels of posting a time of 10.86 seconds in the 100-meter dash, Richardson expanded upon the loss she experienced in her personal life:
"I'm still here. Last week, finding out my biological mother passed away and still choosing to pursue my dreams, still coming out here, still here to make the family that I do still have on this earth proud. And the fact [is] nobody knows what I go through. Everybody has struggles and I understand that, but y'all see me on this track and y'all see the poker face I put on, but nobody but them and my coach know what I go through on a day-to-day basis.
"I'm highly grateful for them. Without them, there would be no me. Without my grandmother, there would be no Sha'Carri Richardson. My family is my everything, my everything until the day I'm done."
"I'm highly blessed and grateful... My family is my everything. My everything until the day I'm done."
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) June 20, 2021
Richardson, who was the 2019 NCAA champion in the 100 meters and second-place finisher in the 200 meters, will look to break up the dominance of Jamaican runners in those events at the Tokyo Games.
While she has already qualified for the 100-meter dash, she will attempt to qualify for the 200 as well Thursday after posting the best qualifying time in the field at 22.11 seconds.
Per Maine, Richardson has the second-fastest 100-meter dash time of the year so far at 10.72 seconds, behind only the time of 10.63 seconds posted by Jamaica's Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Fraser-Pryce won gold in the 100-meter dash at both the 2008 and 2012 Summer Olympics. She won bronze in 2016, while Jamaican teammate Elaine Thompson won gold.
Richardson will look to become the first American to win Olympic gold in the 100 meters since Gail Devers in 1996.
Thompson also won gold in the 200 meters at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics, but if Richardson is able to unseat her, she will become just the second American woman to win gold in the 200 since 1992, joining 2012 gold medalist Allyson Felix.
Former College Track Coach Steve Waithe Facing Cyberstalking, Wire Fraud Charges
Apr 7, 2021
Empty seats inside the Olympic stadium during the athletics competitions of the 2016 Summer Olympics at the Olympic stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, Aug. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Steve Waithe, a former track coach at Northeastern University from 2018-19, was taken into custody by law enforcement officials in Chicago on Wednesday.
Per an official statement from the United States Attorney's Office in Massachusetts, Waithe is facing one count of cyberstalking and one count of wire fraud.
The criminal complaint against Waithe notes that he is alleged to have "frequently requested to use female athletes' cellphones under the pretense of filming their form at practice and at meets" when he was coaching at Northeastern.
Waithe also allegedly "perpetrated a scheme to dupe female Northeastern University track and field athletes into sending him nude or semi-nude photos of themselves" dating back to February 2020.
From a period of nearly four months between June 21, 2020, to Oct. 3, 2020, Waithe is also accused of cyberstalking at least one female student-athlete at Northeastern and allegedly running an "athlete research" or "body development" study in which he used at least one alias to request female student-athletes send him images of themselves in a "uniform or bathing suit to show as much skin as possible."
The charges carry a combined sentence of up to 25 years in prison, six years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine.
Renata Nyul, a spokesperson for Northeastern, told Tom Winter and Wilson Wong of NBC News that Waithe was fired in February 2019 following "a university investigation into his inappropriate conduct toward female student-athletes."
Utah Reaches Settlement, Admits Fault in Death of Heptathlete Lauren McCluskey
Oct 22, 2020
University of Utah President Ruth Watkins, right, puts on her mask as Jill McCluskey, the mother of slain University of Utah student-athlete Lauren McCluskey speaks during a press conference announcing they have reached a settlement in their lawsuit against the university Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
The University of Utah announced Thursday has reached a settlement agreement with the family of Lauren McCluskey, a track and field athlete who was killed two years ago.
Per ESPN's T.J. Quinn, the school announced a $13.5 million settlement and admitted university employees did not take the necessary steps to help protect McCluskey before she was shot and killed by Melvin Shawn Rowland in Oct. 2018.
"The university acknowledges and deeply regrets that it did not handle Lauren's case as it should have and that, at the time, its employees failed to fully understand and respond appropriately to Lauren's situation, Utah president Ruth Watkins said in a written statement. "As a result, we failed Lauren and her family."
Courtney Tanner and Sean P. Means of the Salt Lake Tribune provided a timeline of events in which Rowland gave McCluskey a "false name and age, and didn't disclose that he was a convicted sex offender on parole" when the two started dating in September 2018.
According to the timeline, "two of McCluskey's friends told staff at University of Utah dorms that they were scared about Rowland's control over her, about how he talked about guns and stayed often in her room."
McCluskey ended her relationship with Rowland when she discovered his real identity on Oct. 9.
In leaked audio obtained by Tanner, Jill McCluskey, Lauren's mother, called University of Utah dispatchers to request campus security accompany her daughter to Rowland's residence to pick up her vehicle.
"I'm worried that he's dangerous," Jill McCluskey said in the audio. "I don't want her to go there by herself and have something bad happen to her."
Per Tanner and Means, Lauren informed school police on Oct. 12 and 13 of messages she was receiving—that she believed were from Rowland's friends—stating he "was dead and that it was her fault." However, social media posts from Rowland, which were a violation of his parole conditions, proved he was still alive. McCluskey thought the texts were an attempt to get her to leave the safety of her dorm.
She also told police Rowland and his friends had extorted $1,000 from her in order to keep them from posting compromising photos of her online. Police reviewed Rowland's record but did not check his parole status, according to an independent review of the case.
Rowland met with a parole agent on Oct. 16, but McCluskey's allegations against him weren't brought up because "university police had not alerted Adult Probation and Parole that Rowland was allegedly harassing McCluskey."
McCluskey again contacted police about her case on Oct. 19 and was told the detective assigned to the case would not be returning to work until Oct. 23 and if she received further messages to contact campus police.
On Oct. 22, 2018, Rowland shot McCluskey multiple times after confronting her in a parking lot where she was walking to her car. Rowland later killed himself that same night after police tracked him to a church.
Quinn noted that McCluskey's parents filed a Title IX lawsuit against the University of Utah in January 2019.
Jill and Matt McCluskey created the Lauren McCluskey Foundation in January 2019 with a mission to provide charitable support for additional safety on college campuses, as well as financial assistance for students and youth track and field athletes and animal welfare.
The settlement agreement also includes "a pledge by the U to seek funds for an indoor track facility to be named in honor of Lauren; and an agreement to rename the newly launched Center for Violence Prevention as the McCluskey Center for Violence Prevention."
19-Year-Old MSU Track Athlete Tony Martin Shot and Killed at Saginaw Gas Station
Jul 20, 2020
Michigan State's logo is seen on Spartan Stadium before the start of an NCAA college football game between Michigan State and Tulsa, Friday, Aug. 30, 2019, in East Lansing, Mich. (AP Photo/Al Goldis)
Tony Martin, a Michigan State track athlete, was shot and killed at a Saginaw, Michigan gas station Sunday morning, Martin's high school coach told Evan Petzold of the Detroit Free Press.
He was 19.
The Saginaw Police Department confirmed Martin's identity Monday.
"In shock, really," high school coach DeEddie Sanders said. "[We were] pretty close. He loved track. He was a good guy, never got in trouble."
Martin set the Michigan long jump record (26 feet, 6 inches) in high school before earning a full scholarship to Michigan State. He competed in the long jump and 60-meter and 200-meter sprint events during his freshman year with the Spartans.
We send our condolences to the family and friends on the passing of Tony Martin. pic.twitter.com/d4yuQNyc7h
— MSU Track & Field/Cross Country (@MSU_TFXC) July 19, 2020
"We send our condolences to the family and friends on the passing of Tony Martin," Michigan State said in a statement.
Per Petzold, the Saginaw Police Department major crimes unit is investigating the shooting as a double homicide.
