Sha'Carri Richardson finishes 4th, won't have spot in 200 meters at Olympics

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Sha'Carri Richardson got passed on the outside down the stretch and finished fourth in the 200-meter final at U.S. track trials Saturday, meaning she'll only have one chance for an individual Olympic gold medal next month in Paris.

Gabby Thomas won the race in 21.81 seconds for her second straight national title. Richardson was in the top three in this, her second-best distance, with about 40 meters left, but Brittany Brown and McKenzie Long passed her and pulled away.

Richardson finished in 22.16 seconds, her slowest of three races through the rounds in the 200.

The 27-year-old Thomas, who decided not to run the 400 meters at trials so she could focus solely on the 200, her best race, will look to add to the bronze medal she won in the event three years ago in Tokyo.

“I knew I needed to get today done, and this is a first step," Thomas said. “There was no gold medal in Paris without getting the job done today, so I'm just ecstatic to be alongside these amazing, incredible women.”

Richardson will still have the 100 — where she'll go in as a favorite and as the reigning world champion — along with a spot on the women's 4x100 relay team.

Richardson clapped her hands and blew a kiss to the crowd before exiting the tunnel quickly after a race that has never been her best, but in which she was widely viewed as a top-three candidate. She won the bronze medal at worlds last year in the 200.

Unlike Thomas, she ran three rounds last week in the 100, which can take both a physical and mental toll. Unlike Thomas, she was also dealing with a warning for a lane violation from Friday's semifinal, meaning if she did it again, she'd be disqualified.

Richardson wobbled slightly at the start, a la her burst from the block in the opening round of the 100 last week, but handled the curve well and was neck and neck for third with Tamara Clark, four lanes to her left, as they hit the straightaway.

The trouble, however, came from her right. Brown finished in 21.90, a personal best, and Long was .01 behind her, with a sizable gap left before Richardson crossed.

Thomas has never lost to Richardson in a 200. Her biggest challenge in Paris figures to come from Jamaican Shericka Jackson, who ran 21.41 at last year's world championships — the second-fastest time in history. Jackson won her preliminary round at Jamaica's nationals Saturday.

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Gabby Thomas celebrates after winning the women's 200-meter final with third place winner McKenzie Long during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Gabby Thomas celebrates after winning the women's 200-meter final with third place winner McKenzie Long during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Gabby Thomas celebrates after winning the women's 200-meter final during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Gabby Thomas gets a hug from Sha'Carri Richardson after winning the women's 200-meter final during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Sha'Carri Richardson wins a heat women's 200-meter semi-finals during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Friday, June 28, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Gabby Thomas celebrates after winning the women's 200-meter final during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

Gabby Thomas celebrates after winning the women's 200-meter final during the U.S. Track and Field Olympic Team Trials Saturday, June 29, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s presidential candidates on Monday accused each other of having no solution for the country’s problems ahead of Friday's runoff election aimed at choosing a successor for the late President Ebrahim Raisi, who died last month in a helicopter crash.

During a more than two-hour debate on public TV, reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian attacked his competitor, Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former nuclear negotiator, for his lack of experience, saying: “Tell me, what single company have you ever managed to make you capable of running the country?

Jalili, who is known as the “Living Martyr” after losing a leg in the 1980s Iran-Iraq war and is famous among Western diplomats for his haranguing lectures and hard-line stances, defended himself highlighting his career and several positions held, including that of top nuclear negotiator.

Pezeshkian further questioned his opponent on what plans he would have for reaching a nuclear deal, with Jalili responding he would approach it "based on strength not weakness,” without providing details.

Jalili accused Pezeshkian of having no plans for managing the country, saying his presidency would drive the country to a “backward position,” as it was under relatively moderate former President Hassan Rouhani (2013-2021). Rouhani struck a nuclear deal with world powers that capped Iran's uranium enrichment in return to lifting sanctions but later, in 2018, President Trump pulled the U.S. out from the landmark deal abruptly restoring harsh sanctions on Iran.

Jalili said that “with the support of people,” Iran would achieve an economic growth of 8% a year, a promise Pezeshkian mocked, saying authorities should be allowed to “execute him if he failed” to deliver on it.

Iran must implement "a dynamic foreign policy” if it wants to have a successful economy, Jalili said, adding that it should not be limited to those nations that it has a problem with — a reference to the U.S. and the western world. Instead, he said, "Iran should look to the other 200 nations in the world where “foreign relations should be improved."

Pezeshkian said his foreign policy will be based on “engagement with the world" including engaging in "negotiations for lifting sanctions.”

Both sides promised to address the problems of the country's poor, workers, women, ethnic groups and religious minorities, and vowed to provide better and faster internet — a plea to a younger generation that showed apathy during Friday's vote.

Pezeshkian and Jalili also said the low turnout in the first round — the lowest-ever poll turnout in the Islamic Republic’s history — should be probed.

“It is not acceptable that some 60 percent (of voters) did not cast a ballot,” said Pezeshkian.

The candidates will face Tuesday in a second and last debate.

Follow the AP’s coverage of global elections at: https://apnews.com/hub/global-elections/

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili, left, a hard-line former Iranian top nuclear negotiator, and reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian shake hands after the conclusion their debate at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former Iranian top nuclear negotiator, arrives for his debate with the reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, reformist candidate for the presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian, right, speaks in his debate with the hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former Iranian top nuclear negotiator, speaks in a debate with the reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, reformist candidate for the presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian speaks in his debate with the hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, candidate for the presidential election Saeed Jalili, a hard-line former Iranian top nuclear negotiator, arrives for his debate with the reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)

In this picture made available by Iranian state-run TV, IRIB, reformist candidate for the presidential election Masoud Pezeshkian arrives for his debate with the hard-line candidate Saeed Jalili at the TV studio in Tehran, Iran, Monday, July 1, 2024. (Morteza Fakhri Nezhad/IRIB via AP)