EUGENE, Ore. — World champion Sha’Carri Richardson will make her bid to restart her 2025 season this Saturday at the 2025 Prefontaine Classic – Eugene Diamond League 2025 meeting, months after an injury in February disrupted her campaign preparations.
How To Watch The 2025 Prefontaine Classic – Eugene Diamond League 2025
You can watch live streaming coverage of the 2025 Prefontaine Classic – Eugene Diamond League 2025 meeting will be NBC and Peacock from 4-6 p.m. ET on Saturday. The first section of the meeting will be streamed live on USATF.TV from 1-4 p.m. ET. The event is also broadcasting live on the Diamond League YouTube page for free in selected territories.
The 25-year-old American sprinter opened up about the challenges she has faced this year during Friday’s pre-meet press conference. Richardson has competed in just one 100-meter race this season, running 11.47 seconds at a Tokyo meet in May.
“I was injured this year in February, that completely set me back for the season — my start of the season and just how I would normally execute,” Richardson explained to reporters.
Saturday’s race will feature one of the strongest 100-meter fields of the season. Olympic champion Julien Alfred from Saint Lucia headlines the competition after her impressive 10.75-second victory in Stockholm three weeks ago. Paris bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson-Wooden also enters the race with the season’s fastest time of 10.73 seconds from a Grand Slam Track meeting in June.
Read More: Sprint Stars Julien Alfred, Kishane Thompson Set For Fast Prefontaine Classic 2025 races
The field also features Jamaican champion and two-time world junior champion Tina Clayton, who is enters this meeting on the back of her personal best winning performance of 10.81 seconds at the Jamaican trials, last month.
Richardson’s focus now centers on getting back into racing rhythm while staying injury-free. The defending world champion emphasized that her main priority is reaching the World Championships in Tokyo healthy and ready to compete.
“My biggest thing is having a healthy race (Saturday),” she said. “With a healthy race, me being confident in me, just knowing what I know and being capable of doing, I know that I will produce what it is that I want.”
The World Championships schedule provides Richardson with extra preparation time. The event runs from September 13-21, giving her more opportunities to find her form. As the defending champion, she automatically qualifies for the 100-meter competition but plans to compete for a 200-meter spot at the upcoming US trials in Eugene.
Alfred arrives in Eugene with growing confidence after her Stockholm performance surprised even herself. The Olympic champion revealed she had doubts leading up to that race but found strength in her preparation.
“The day before, I had a mental breakdown because my coach and I had been working on a few things,” Alfred shared. “I was a bit hard on myself going into the race, but the time really shocked me just on my execution.”
Richardson views the extended season as helpful for her comeback plans. She called the later World Championships dates “a blessing in disguise” that allows more time to build her fitness and racing sharpness.
The American sprinter has not detailed the specific nature of her February injury. However, she remains focused on the bigger picture as she works toward defending her world title in Tokyo.
“The only thing that matters is world championships,” Richardson stated, underlining her determination to return to top form when it counts most.
Saturday’s Diamond League meeting in Eugene will provide the first real test of Richardson’s recovery and readiness to challenge the world’s best sprinters once again.
