Gabby Thomas wins 200 at Olympic track trials, Sha'Carri Richardson finishes fourth

EUGENE — Gabby Thomas, Brittany Brown and McKenzie Long are headed to Paris to compete in the women’s 200 meters after finishing 1-2-3 in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials Saturday at Hayward Field.

Thomas won in 21.81 seconds, with Brown finishing second in a personal-best 21.90. Long ran a 21.91.

Sha’Carri Richardson finished fourth in the final in 22.16.

Thomas, the reigning bronze medalist in the event, ran a world-leading 21.78 Friday during the semifinals, surprising herself. She said after that race that she wouldn’t be surprised if she churned out a personal best Saturday, and she delivered.

Each of the Americans will be strong contenders for medals in Paris given that Jamaican star Elaine Thompson-Herah, the reigning Olympic champion in the 100 and 200, announced last week she was withdrawing from the Jamaican trials because of an Achilles tear.

Long, a star at Ole Miss who had the best time in the world this season — which she ran in Eugene at the NCAA championships on June 8 — before Thomas went even faster in the semifinals. Long, who also competed in the 100 here but did not make the final.

Long has said she is running in memory of her mother, Tara Jones, who died unexpectedly of a heart attack before the season started at just 45.