RICHARDSON LAST IN RETURN

Jamaican Elaine Thompson-herah bested her Olympic gold-medal winning time in the 100 meters at the Prefontaine Classic, and Sha’carri Richardson finished last in her return to the track after controversy.

Thompson-herah ran the 100 meters Saturday in 10.54 seconds, the best time in the world this year as well as a meet record and a personal best. She topped her Olympic-record 10.61 in Tokyo as she edged closer to Florence Griffith Joyner’s world record of 10.49 set in 1988.

Fellow Jamaicans Shellyann Fraser-pryce and Sherika Jackson followed Thompson to the finish line, the same 1-2-3 finish as the Olympics.

“I’m a little bit surprised because I’ve not run that fast in five years and I actually ran fast at the championships. But to come back here after two weeks to run another personal best is a really amazing,” Thompson-herah said.

The Diamond League race at Hayward Field was heralded as Richardson’s return to the sport after a positive marijuana test, as well as a showdown against the Jamaicans that many had hoped to see in Japan.

“Actually just to be back doing what it is that I have a passion for, that’s in my heart, that navigates me day-to-day, was a blessing,” Richardson said afterward, vowing that better finishes are to come.

Richardson won the 100 on the same track at the U.S. Olympic track and field trials in June, becoming a sensation with her long, colorful nails and big personality. But her title was stripped after she tested positive for marijuana shortly after the race.

She was handed a 30-day suspension that kept her out of the event in Tokyo and was later left off the U.S. team as part of the relay pool, although her suspension would’ve been completed by the time of the 4x100 race.

“This last month was a journey for me, but that’s no excuse, because at the end of the day I’m an athlete. Today was a day, but it’s not every day. It’s not the end of the world,” Richardson said. “And like I say, if you count me out, joke’s on you.”

Richardson opted not to double in the 200, which was won by Mujinga Kambundji. Allyson Felix, who became the United States’ most decorated Olympian this summer in Japan, finished at the back of the field but was treated to a warm reception by the crowd.

“That’s really the reason that I came, just to say thank you and gratitude,” Felix said.