KINGSTON, Jamaica – Defending champion Sha’Carri Richardson of the USA and Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, the silver medalist in the women’s 100m from the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary will line up beside each other in the semi-finals in Tokyo, Japan on Sunday morning, Jamaica time.

It will be the second straight race early in the championships that Richardson, who has run sparingly this season, will meet Jackson who she edged in their first round race on the first day of the championships. With a place in the final on the line a few hours later, it’s expected no quarters will be asked and none given.

The first two in each of the three semi-finals will automatically qualify for the final along with the next two fastest runners on time.

Jackson, the defending champion in the 200m and who was second in the 100m at the Jamaican national championships in late June, was easing through the finish line in her first round race when Richardson pipped her on the line with a season’s best 11.03 seconds (-0.8m/s). Jackson’s time was 11.04 seconds.

Great Britain’s Daryll Neita, one of only two women to run a sub-11.00 seconds time in the first round will also line up in the first semi-final as well as Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith of the Ivory Coast.

Five-time gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who is participating in her final global championships, has been drawn alongside Olympic champion Julien Alfred of St Lucia who was fastest in qualifying with 10.93 seconds, Zoe Hobbs of New Zealand and American relay specialist Twanisha Terry.

Jamaica’s national champion Tina Clayton who won her first round race in 11.01 seconds (-0.4m/s) will face off with world leader and gold medal favourite Mellissa Jefferson-Wooden of the USA and Dina Asher-Smith of Great Britain.

-Paul A Reid