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| Shericka Jackson withdraws from the women’s 200m race at the Paris Olympics |
Shericka Jackson has withdrawn from the women’s 200m race at the Paris Olympics with an apparent injury The news broke out on Sunday morning Paris time, just a few minutes before she was set to take part in heat 3 at Stade de France. Shericka Jackson competes at the Stockholm Diamond League on June 2, 2024. This comes only a few hours after another Jamaican powerhouse, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, was a no-show in the women’s 100m. Fraser-Pryce had competed and finished second in the first round but failed to take to the track in the semifinals. Why Shericka Jackson withdrew from 200m On her part, Jackson had withdrawn from the 100m and decided to focus on the 200m alone. She has an injury-hit season, restricting her to only a few appearances. She last raced at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial in Szekesfehervar, Hungary, where she appeared to pull something on the bend. “It was a combination of things. I got hurt, and my coach and I felt like it was a good decision to only run one event,” she said, as quoted by Al Jazeera. Her place in the Jamaican 100m team was taken by Shashalee Forbes.
Will Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson compete at Paris 2024 It remains to be seen whether Fraser-Pryce or Jackson will return for the 4 by 100m relay. The team is already thin as it is after the 2020 champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, failed to qualify completely. Jackson’s withdrawal now opens up the opportunity for USA’s Gabby Thomas to win the gold medal. Thomas finished second to Jackson during the World Athletics Championships last year.
by Celine Nyambura