Sha'Carri Richardson wins United States 100 meter title

Sha'Carri Richardson won the 100-meter title in 10.82 seconds at the U.S. championships on Friday night.

After her victory, she conceded that she wasn’t ready for the moment at the 2021 Olympic Trials, where, shortly after her victory, she tested positive for using marijuana.

“Now, I stand here with you again and I’m ready, mentally, physically and emotionally,” said the 23-year-old, who ran in her natural black braids with a star shaved into the right side of her hairdo. “I’m here to say, ‘I’m not back, I’m better …’”

She’ll have a chance to put a stamp on that next month at the world championships, which will mark her first major international meet.

Sha’Carri Richardson runs 10.82 to take the women’s 100m national title.#USATFOutdoors | 📺: @CNBC and @peacock pic.twitter.com/06pj0m8SIr

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) July 8, 2023

WATCH: Sha'Carri Richardson beats Elaine Thompson-Herah by a whisker in Luzerne 100m

American sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson edged Jamaica's Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah by one-hundredth of a second to win the women's 100 metres in Luzerne on Tuesday.

Watch the race below:

WATCH Allyson Felix's final race

Watch Allyson Felix and Team USA in her final race where they took bronze in the legend's final race, the mixed 4x400m relay final at Worlds.

Allyson Felix statement to fans after her final race

After Allyson Felix ended her track and field career at the 2022 World Athletics Championships by earning the bronze medal with her Team USA teammates in the mixed 4 x 400-meter relay, she shared a short but thoughtful message with her fans on Instagram.

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A post shared by Allyson Felix (@allysonfelix)

Watch Sha'Carri Richardson win the women's 200m at the NYC Grand Prix

While many have criticized Sha'Carri Richardson, including myself it's only right to praise her when she does well. Richardson used a blistering stretch run to hold off the field and win the women's 200m at the NYC Grand Prix in 22.38.

Congratulations young lady! I truly hope that this is the start of something great for you.

Allyson Felix Announces Her Retirement After 2022 Track and Field Season

Allyson Felix confirmed in an Instagram post on Wednesday that she will compete during the 2022 track and field season, and then retire. Felix will retire as the most decorated U.S. athlete in Olympic track & field history with 11 medals.

Read her statement below:

As a little girl they called chicken legs, never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined I’d have a career like this. I have so much gratitude for this sport that has changed my life. I have given everything I have to running and for the first time I’m not sure if I have anything left to give. I want to say goodbye and thank you to the sport and people who have helped shape me the only way I know how—with one last run. This season isn’t about the time on the clock, it’s simply about joy. If you see me on the track this year I hope to share a moment, a memory and my appreciation with you.

This season I’m running for women. I’m running for a better future for my daughter. I’m running for you. More to come on that, so stay tuned, but I’ll be sharing a series of announcements that I’m hoping will make the world better for women.

Here’s to my final season.

Allyson Felix Wins 11th Olympic Medal in 4x400 Relay

Allyson Felix won her 11th career Olympic medal Saturday, combining with her American teammates to finish the 4x400-meter relay in 3 minutes, 16.85 seconds for a runaway victory.

The team of Felix, Sydney McLaughlin, Dalilah Muhammad and Athing Mu was never in jeopardy in this one. Poland finished second, 3.68 seconds behind, and Jamaica finished third.

Felix, who became the most-decorated woman in Olympic track history when she won bronze in the 400 the night before, now passes Carl Lewis with the most track medals of any U.S. athlete. Of the 11 medals, seven are gold.

Sha'Carri Richardson To Race 100 & 200 Meters At Prefontaine Classic

Sha’Carri Richardson leads off the stars lining up for the Prefontaine Classic, and in a rare treat fans can enjoy her electrifying flair twice.

Her competitors will be the fastest available, as meet organizers aim to load fields with Tokyo medalists as the Pre Classic kicks off the post-Olympic sequence of Wanda Diamond League meets. In Richardson’s case, that’s two events as she intends to race both the 100 and 200 meters, an unusual one-day double in Diamond League competition.

“I’m looking forward to running fast and putting on a show,” Richardson told meet staff succinctly.

Even at age 21, this generational talent already has a history of doing both.

Just three weeks ago, the Dallas native sizzled the surface of reimagined Hayward Field at the University of Oregon with a blistering 10.64 in the 100-meter semifinals at the U.S. Olympic Trials. Even though the race was wind-aided, she noticeably eased up to a time that only Florence Griffith Joyner and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have ever surpassed under any conditions.

Later that same day Richardson won the final easily, her nails and brightly-colored flowing hair making a fashion statement to match her speed.

Richardson rose to stardom in her home state of Texas when as an LSU freshman she stormed to a collegiate record 10.75 to win the 2019 NCAA Championships in Austin. Later that day she fell just 0.01 seconds short of winning the 200.

One-day doubles (and triples) have continued in her career, even in the pandemic year of 2020. In August of last year she ran a pair of sub-11 times in the 100, plus her 22.00 PR in the 200, all on the same day.

Doubling in Pre Classic sprints has been historically rare, even before the Diamond League began in 2010. The last man or woman to win both the 100 and 200 in the same year was Maurice Greene in 1999, two years after Inger Miller came closest in women’s events in 1997 with a first in the 100 and second in the 200.

Additional entries in both the 100 and 200 meters will be announced in the coming weeks.   

Tickets for the 46th annual edition of the Prefontaine Classic, to be held August 20-21 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore., will be available at 9 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday, July 12 at GoDucks.com. Purchase gains entry into both Friday night and Saturday sessions of the meet. All seats are reserved for both sessions.

Accreditation requests for bona fide members of the media wishing to cover the Prefontaine Classic can be placed online at portal.diamondleague.com. Media accreditation questions and other inquiries can be sent to media@preclassic.com.

The Prefontaine Classic is the longest-running outdoor invitational track & field meet in America and is part of the elite Wanda Diamond League of meets held worldwide annually. The Pre Classic’s results score has rated No. 1 or No. 2 in the world 8 of the last nine years it has been contested.  

The meet has been sponsored by NIKE continuously since 1984, the longest running title sponsorship of a single sports event in the United States.  

The NIKE Prefontaine Classic will be shown live to an international audience by NBC on Saturday.

Steve Prefontaine is a legend in the sport of track & field and is the most inspirational distance runner in American history. He set a national high school 2-mile record (8:41.5) while at Marshfield High School in Coos Bay, Oregon, that is the fastest ever in a National Federation-sanctioned race. While competing for the University of Oregon, he won national cross country championships (3) and outdoor track 3-Mile/5000-meter championships (4), and never lost a collegiate track race at any distance. As a collegiate junior, he made the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team and nearly won an Olympic medal, finishing 4th in the 5K at the 1972 Munich Olympics, at age 21.  After finishing college in 1973 and preparing for a return to the Olympics in 1976, he continued to improve, setting many American records. His life ended tragically on May 30, 1975, the result of an auto accident, at age 24. The Pre Classic began that year and had been held every year since, until 2020 when it fell victim to the pandemic. Now a new string begins.

Nike releases statement of support for Sha’Carri Richardson after positive test

Nike released the following statement after the United States Anti-Doping Agency announced that Richardson tested positive for marijuana and will serve a 1 month suspension.

“We appreciate Sha’Carri’s honesty and accountability and will continue to support her through this time.”

Richardson has been a Nike athlete since 2019, and remains so after positive marijuana test and one-month suspension

Gabby Thomas breaks U.S. trials record in women's 200

Gabby Thomas held off a field that included Allyson Felix with a blazing fast time to win the women's 200 meters at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.

Thomas finished in a trials-record time of 21.61 seconds to earn a spot at the Tokyo Games. Joining her will be runner-up Jenna Prandini and third-place finisher Anavia Battle.

Thomas turned in the third-fastest of all-time, trailing only Florence Griffith Joyner, who went 21.34 and 21.56 in 1988.

Thomas broke the trials record of 21.69 set by Felix in 2012.

[SOURCE: ESPN]

Allyson Felix breaks Usain Bolt's gold medal record

Allyson Felix‘s first gold medal as a mom came with this added significance, too — she broke her tie with Usain Bolt for the most gold medals in world championships history with 12.

“So special, to have my daughter here watching means the world to me,” Felix told Lewis Johnson on NBCSN. “It’s been a crazy year for me.”

Felix, 33 and the most decorated female track and field athlete at the Olympics with nine medals among four Games, was part of the winning U.S. quartet in the first world championships mixed-gender 4x400m relay, an event that makes its Olympic debut next year. She split 50.4 seconds.

[SOURCE: NBC SPORTS]

Comcast Announces Six Time Olympic Medal Winner Jackie Joyner-Kersee to Serve as National Spokeswoman for Internet Essentials

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Comcast Corporation today announced Jackie Joyner-Kersee will serve as a national spokeswoman for Internet Essentials, the largest and most successful broadband adoption program in the country. Soon to kick off its sixth annual back-to-school season, Internet Essentials has helped close the digital divide for more than 600,000 families, benefitting 2.4 million low-income Americans.

“There is no question that Jackie Joyner-Kersee is one of the greatest athletes of all time, but she has also distinguished herself in her post-Olympic career”

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“There is no question that Jackie Joyner-Kersee is one of the greatest athletes of all time, but she has also distinguished herself in her post-Olympic career,” said Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer, David L. Cohen. “Through her charitable foundation, she has been working on the front lines in her community to serve as a role model for others, to help those who are less fortunate, and to inspire a younger generation to dream and lead. We are thrilled to have Jackie help us to close the digital divide and raise awareness about all that the Internet has to offer students and families.”

“The mission of my foundation is to inspire young people to develop the drive and determination to succeed in both academics and athletics,” said Joyner-Kersee. “In my community, I’ve seen first hand that’s really hard to do if you’re on the wrong side of the digital divide. So, I’m excited to go on the road this year with Internet Essentials and help more kids and families cross that divide and develop to their fullest potential.”

Joyner-Kersee, winner of six Olympic Medals, is, according to ESPN, one of the “50 great athletes of the 20th century.” She is the first woman to win back-to-back gold medals in the heptathlon, the first African American woman to win an Olympic Medal in the long jump, and the first woman to score 7,000 points in the heptathlon. Born and raised in East St. Louis, Joyner-Kersee is committed to ensuring that all children have access to high-quality after-school programs, safe recreational places within their communities, and caring adults to help them achieve their dreams. She launched the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation in Los Angeles and, in 1995, moved it to East St. Louis. Inspired by the closing of her neighborhood community center, Joyner-Kersee grew the Foundation by raising more than $12 million to expand programming and built a comprehensive youth and sports facility and campus that opened in 2000.

Internet Essentials Key Investments

From August 2011 through December 2015, Internet Essentials has connected more than 600,000 low-income families, benefitting more than 2.4 million Americans, to the Internet at home. Also since 2011, Comcast has invested more than $280 million in cash and in-kind support to help fund digital literacy training and education initiatives, reaching nearly 4.4 million people through national and local nonprofit community partners.

• Provided more than 47,000 subsidized computers at less than $150 each.
• Distributed for free nearly 51 million Internet Essentials program materials.
• Broadcast more than 8.3 million public service announcements, valued at more than $100 million.
• Welcomed 5 million visitors to the Internet Essentials websites in English and Spanish and its Online Learning Center.
• Fielded more than 3.9 million phone calls to our Internet Essentials call center.
• Made Internet Essentials available in nearly 48,000 schools in more than 5,000 school districts, in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
• Partnered with 9,000 community-based organizations, government agencies, and federal, state, and local elected officials to spread the word.

About Internet Essentials

Internet Essentials from Comcast is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive high-speed Internet adoption program. It provides low-cost high-speed Internet service for $9.95 a month plus tax; the option to purchase an Internet-ready computer for under $150; and multiple options to access free digital literacy training in print, online and in-person. For more information, or to apply for the program, visit www.InternetEssentials.com or call 1-855-846-8376. Spanish speakers should call 1-855-765-6995.

About Comcast Corporation

Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation's largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts. Visit www.comcastcorporation.com for more information.

Contacts

Comcast Corporation
Charlie Douglas, 215-264-8020
charlie_douglas@comcast.com
or
Meredith Wertz, 215-970-8504
meredith_wertz@comcast.com

Michelle Carter: First American woman to win gold medal in shot put

Michelle Carter, who calls herself the “Shot Diva,” unleashed a Herculean final throw in the women’s shot put competition Friday night in Rio to take home the first-ever gold medal by an American woman in the event.

Carter, 30, heaved her last shot 20.63 meters to surpass and upset two-time defending gold medalist Valeri Adams of New Zealand. Adams had set the distance to beat, 20.42, and Carter’s first five throws had ranged from 19.12 to 19.87. But she came up big on her last attempt.

Carter had never medaled at the Olympics, but took bronze at the 2015 World Championships, and won gold at the 2016 World Indoor Championships.

Carter is the daughter of former NFL defensive lineman Michael Carter. Michael won a silver medal in the shot put in 1984 in Los Angeles, and won the Super Bowl with the San Francisco 49ers in the same year. He is the only person to win an Olympic medal and a Super Bowl in the same year.

Michelle’s gold also makes her and her father the first American father-daughter duo to medal at the Olympics.

[SOURCE]

Usain Bolt injured before 2016 Summer Olympics

Six-time Olympic gold medalist Usain Bolt has suffered an injury ahead of Rio after tearing a hamstring at Jamaica's Olympic trials.

Bolt, 29, sustained the grade-one tear during the first round of the 100m and withdrew after winning his semi-final.

He is still expected to defend his 100 and 200m titles as Jamaica's selection policy allows medical exemptions.

Statement from Usain Bolt:

“After feeling discomfort in my hamstring after the first round last night and then again in the semi-final tonight I was examined by the Chief Doctor of the National Championships and diagnosed with a Grade 1 tear. I have submitted a medical exemption to be excused from the 100m final and the remainder of the National Championships. I will seek treatment immediately and hope to show fitness at the London Anniversary Games on July 22 to earn selection for the Olympic Games in Rio”.

Race, Jesse Owens biopic being released 02/19/2016

Race is the first feature biopic film about African American athlete Jesse Owens, who won a record-breaking four gold medals at the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games.Directed by Stephen Hopkins and written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, the film stars Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Jeremy Irons, William Hurt and Carice van Houten. The film will be released in the United States on February 19, 2016. Watch the trailer below.