“I have two shots this year and one is already gone”- Shericka Jackson still hopes to break the 200m world record after winning in Brussels
200m world champion Shericka Jackson is hoping to break the world record at the upcoming Diamond League Final in September. However, the athlete recently said that she is not putting herself under pressure to accomplish it.
On September 8, Shericka Jackson competed at the Brussels Diamond League in the 200m. Maintaining her winning streak, she won the race while trying to chase the world record timing of 21.34s, set by Florence Griffith Joyner in the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. However, the 29-year-old missed it narrowly as she clocked an impressive 21.48s in the Belgian capital.
Meanwhile, her competitor Anthonique Strachan of the Bahamas was placed second and America's Jenna Prandini finished third. They clocked 22.31s and 22.47s respectively.
In a post-race interview, when Shericka Jackson was asked about missing her shot at breaking the world record, she said (via The Inside Lane):
"Let me I'll tell you, I just won 21.48 and I said yesterday in the press conference, 'If I don't get the record, I won't feel any way'. I have two shots this year and one is already gone, that's today. I have another shot in Eugene. I believe in myself, I believe in what I'm capable of doing."
She added:
“So therefore if it comes, it comes, if it don't come, then I'll take a little break and then we prepare for next year but as I said, it's just a focus on this year. If I get the world record in Eugene, then it's a plus plus but I won't kill myself. I'm here I'm enjoying myself.”
Shericka Jackson was just 0.07s away from beating the world record in Budapest
Shericka Jackson recently defended her world champion title for the second time at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. Besides winning the race, what also made headlines was the Jamaican sprinter coming incredibly close to breaking Florence Griffith Joyner's world record of 21.34s.
Jackson clocked a stunning 21.41s to win the gold medal in the race. It meant that she missed the world record by just 0.07 seconds. Post-race, she expressed her thoughts, saying:
“To run a personal best, I'm definitely grateful."
She also shared how she had previously lost her love for competing in the 200m race and that the 29-year-old changed her mind only after participating in the Monaco Diamond League in July.
Jackson will next be seen competing at the Diamond League Final in Eugene, Oregon, scheduled for September 16 and 17.