Sha'Carri Richardson and Valarie Allman Shine on Day Two

After a stellar Day 1 which saw the rise of a new shot put world record from Ryan Crouser, Day 2 was poised to be almost as exciting.

The qualifying rounds for the men’s pole vault, triple jump, javelin, and 100m began, as well as the women’s 100m hurdles. We had plenty of semifinals going off, and the finals for both the women’s discus and 100m were set to be a scorcher.

Sha’Carri Richardson did what she does best and blew everyone’s minds in the semi-final. She crossed in 10.64 seconds. Although it was wind-aided, the time is the 4th fastest time ever run under any conditions and she did so holding out her arm and pointing at the clock about 30m shy of the finish line.

That set an expectation for the final we haven’t seen the likes of perhaps since Usain Bolt. Each time he stepped into a championship-caliber final, the fans almost assumed a world record was imminent. Would there be one this time?

Not quite, but Richardson still blazed through the line in another sub-10.9 and captured her first Olympic berth. Alongside her, the United States will be represented by Javianne Oliver and Teahna Daniels.

In the men’s 100m qualifying rounds, nearly every man you might assume would make it to the next round, did so. What was most impressive, and certainly a delectable tease of what’s to come, was that the top six times were all under 10 seconds. Remember, this is only the qualifying round.

Lastly, Valarie Allman had the discus series of her life. Her shortest heave over six throws was enough to clinch her spot to Tokyo by more than twelve feet. In fact, four of her five recorded marks were all over 220’.

On her second to the last throw, Rachel Dincoff was able to squeeze ahead of Kelcey Card to join Valarie and Micaela Hazlewood as the top three finishers in women’s discus for Team USA.

Other Notable Results From Day 2

Women’s 100m Hurdles Top Qualifier

Keni Harrison - 12.49

Men’s 100m Top Qualifier

Trayvon Bromell - 9.84

Women’s 400m Top Qualifier

Quanera Hayes - 50.07

Men’s 400m Top Qualifier

Michael Cherry - 44.50

Men’s 800m Top Qualifier

Bryce Hoppel - 1:46.00

Women’s 1500m Top Qualifier

Nikki Hiltz - 4:05.87

Men’s Triple Jump Top Qualifier

Will Claye - 55’3-1/2”(16.85m)

Men’s Javelin Throw Top Qualifier

Marc Anthony Minichello - 76.63

Men’s Decathlon (Leader after 5 events)

Garrett Scantling - 4494