EUGENE, Oregon — The final act of exorcising the ghosts of the women’s 200m from last year’s Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, is likely to come when freshly minted World Champion Shericka Jackson finally sits down to watch the tape of her first-round 200m race in Tokyo in August 2021.

On Thursday Jackson admitted she was yet to watch the recording of the race in which she misjudged her finish to place fourth in 23.26 seconds. She failed to advance from the heat at the Olympics Games, a setback that could have crushed her confidence.

Earlier in the championships the Jamaican had opened up about her disappointment in Tokyo and how much she wanted to set the record straight after she had gone to the Olympics as a medal favourite in the half-lap event.

On a cool Thursday evening, in front of an expectant crowd that had dozens if not hundreds of Jamaicans in Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon, Jackson, who celebrated her 28th birthday days before, ran one of the greatest 200m races of all time, clocking a mouth-watering 21.45 seconds.

“We were hoping for a one-two-three for Jamaica, but we will take this for now and we are grateful,” a beaming Jackson told members of the media on Thursday.

“We came out here to do our best and our best was good enough and we delivered big and we are so grateful,” she added about the race in which her compatriots 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was second and Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah finished seventh.

Jackson’s championship and national record time is the second-fastest ever and fastest since the late American Florence Griffiths-Joyner set the world record of 21.34 at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea, just under six years before Jackson was born.

Her time broke the Jamaican national record of 21.53 set by Thompson-Herah at the Olympic Games last year, as well as the championship record of 21.63 set in 2015 by Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands. It is also a Hayward Field and USA All-Comers record.

Not to be lost in the noise is that Jackson also joined a select group of women who have won World Championship medals in the 100m, 200m, and 400m as well as the 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

Inevitably, the world record was mentioned several times after Thursday’s final, but Jackson, who also lowered her own previous best 21.55 set a month ago, insisted she was not chasing any times.

“Coach [Paul Francis] and I had a conversation and it was that great execution will bring fast times, you don’t have to think about breaking a world record because when you go into a race with times in your head and you don’t meet those expectations you end up disappointing yourself and sometimes disappointments are hard to come back from and I don’t want to have that when I am competing.”

Coming back from her setback a year ago has been on her mind, she admitted, several times during the championships and said she was focused on putting that mishap behind her once and for all.

Jackson showed some emotions during the official press conference held in the bowels of the massive stadium on Thursday night, pausing several times as she fought back tears.

“That setback taught me so much that year, I never made it in my favourite event and it just…” she said, taking a few moments to collect herself while receiving reassurance from Fraser-Pryce who sat to her right.

“I am not going to cry,” Jackson said.

“That taught me so much, that no matter what, just keep going, I think after the Olympic Games I cried so hard and so much because I wanted to be in that 200m final so much, but it was not meant to be at the moment. I guess this is the moment and last year was preparing me for this year and I am so grateful for this moment,” she told journalists.

Fraser-Pryce had earlier given her support when she faced the media.

“It feels good. Shericka and I are good friends and last year when she did not make it to the semi-finals because of that heat run she cried and I knew how she felt, and as an athlete you can relate to disappointment. You understand the focus and determination to come back because a lot of persons allow disappointments to kind of just throw them off completely, and they never bounce back. So to be able to bounce back after having a disappointment is really remarkable, and it is something that you can take for your own self when you see others bounce back,” said Fraser-Pryce.

“It is really wonderful to see her have that run, I was trying to keep up with her as best as I could but it didn’t happen,” she said with a laugh.

“But I was really grateful that I was able to stand on the [medal] podium with her,” said Fraser-Pryce who ran the curve of her life on Thursday en route to the silver medal finish.