Sha'Carri Richardson wins 100, Beatrice Chebet sets world record in 10,000 at Prefontaine Classic

EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — Sha'Carri Richardson continued her march toward the Paris Olympics on Saturday at the Prefontaine Classic, winning the women's 100 meters in 10.83 seconds.

Kenyan Beatrice Chebet s et a world record in the 10,000 meters at the Pre earlier in the day with a time of 28 minutes, 54.14 seconds, while American Christian Coleman won the day's other notable event, the men's 100, in a season-best 9.95.

But the spotlight was on the battle between Richardson, the 2023 world champion, and Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah, the reigning Olympic gold medalist in both the 100 and 200 meters.

Thompson-Herah faded at the Pre, finishing last in the field of nine. The charismatic Richardson, wearing her long hair tied back in a ponytail, muscled her way to the finish and dramatically pushed off the tape remnants.

After crouching for a moment while her time was announced, Richardson rose to give the crowd at Hayward field a smile and a wave. Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia finished second in 10.93.

“I feel like I'm continuing to grow and develop into a mature young lady, a mature athlete, as well as a vessel that I am put on earth to continue to grow,” Richardson said.

Richardson will get her shot at a spot on the U.S. team for Paris at the Olympic trials next month in Eugene. She was denied a chance to run in the Tokyo Games because of a positive drug test for marijuana following her first-place finish in the 100 at the trials.

Richardson fell to ninth in the 100 at the 2021 Prefontaine, her first competition following the Olympics disappointment. She did not qualify for the world championships at Hayward Field in 2022.

But since then, she has steadily made a comeback. In 2023, she won her first Diamond League event in Doha. Then she blazed to a title in the U.S. national championships before winning the gold medal at the worlds in Budapest.

Asked if she would race again before the Olympic trials, she said: “We'll see. Watch.”

The Prefontaine Classic was the fifth stop of the year on the elite international Diamond League series. For the Americans vying for a spot on the Olympic team, it served as key tune-up.

Athing Mu, the defending Olympic gold medalist, withdrew from the 800 meters because of lingering hamstring soreness and will instead focus on the trials. Britain's Keely Hodgkinson won the 800 in 1:55.78 under cloudy skies and temperatures in the low 60s.

The Prefontaine's signature event, the Bowerman mile, featured a field that included seven athletes with lifetime bests under 3:50. The race did not disappoint, with Britain's Josh Kerr finishing in 3:45.34, the best time in the world this year.

Coleman, the world indoor champion in the 60 this year, won the 100 at the 2019 worlds in Doha. His finish at the Pre was his first sub-10 second finish in the 100 this year. Kenyan Ferdinand Omanyala was second in 9.98.

“I feel good. I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in and I feel like now it’s just mentally putting it all together and doing what I know I’m capable of on race day,” Coleman said.

American Kenneth Bednarkek won the men's 200 in 19.89. Fellow American Grant Holloway, a three-time world champion in the 110 hurdles who has won all of the races he has run this year, finished his event in 13.03, a world best this season.

Chebet bested the previous record of 29:01.03 set by Ethiopia’s Letesenbet Gidey at FBK Stadium in the Netherlands on June 8, 2021.

The finish earned Chebet a spot on Kenya's team for the Olympics this summer. Although she primarily competes in the 5,000 meters, she said she hopes to also run the 10,000 in Paris.

In the men's 10,000, Kenyan Daniel Matieko won in 26:50.81, a world best so far this season. Gerald Drummond of Costa Rica topped the field in the 400 hurdles in 48.56. American Joe Kovacs won he shot put.

In the women's 100 hurdles, Cyrena Samba-Mayela of France won with a personal-best finish in 12.52. Ethiopia's Diribe Weleji won the women's 1,500.

Other top finishers included Valarie Allman in the discus and fellow American Emily Grove in the pole vault. Cuba's Leyanis Perez Hernandez won the triple jump and Uganda's Peruth Chemutai won the steeple chase.

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Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, celebrates her world record in the 10,000 with a time of 28:54.14, during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. Gudaf Tsegay, left, of Ethiopia came in second and celebrates with Chebet. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Orla Comerford, of Ireland, wins the Para 100m during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Gerald Drummond, of Costa Rica, wins the 400m hurdles during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Joe Kovacs reacts after winning the shot put during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Peruth Chemutai, of Uganda, wins the women's steeplechase at the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Kenneth Bednarek wins the men's 200 meters at the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. Courtney Lindsey, right, was second, and Kyree King, second from left, was third. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, sets a world record in the 10,000 with a time of 28:54.14, during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Sha'Carri Richardson talks with media after winning the 100 meters at the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Leyanis Pérez Hernández, of Cuba, wins the women's triple jump during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Josh Kerr, of Scotland, gestures after winning the men's mile during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Beatrice Chebet of Kenya, sets a world record in the 10,000 with a time of 28:54.14, during the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Sha'Carri Richardson talks with reporters after winning the women's 100 meters at the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

Sha'Carri Richardson holds a piece of the tape after winning the women's 100 meters at the Prefontaine Classic track and field meet Saturday, May 25, 2024, in Eugene, Ore. (AP Photo/Thomas Boyd)

BRUSSELS (AP) — The 27 leaders of the European Union gather in Brussels on Monday evening to take stock of recent European election results and begin the fraught process of dividing up the bloc’s top jobs, but they will be playing their usual political game with a deck of reshuffled cards.

The June 6-9 elections saw the European Parliament shift to the right and dealt major blows to pro-European governing parties in Paris and Berlin. The Franco-German motor that usually propels EU politics along was weakened, and new dynamics could be on show at the informal dinner.

Under the EU’s complicated division of powers, the presidents and prime ministers get to nominate the next head of the bloc's powerful executive branch, the European Commission, which is responsible for drawing up EU policy on everything from climate to the colossal shared budget.

Under the EU's treaties, their choice should take into account the results of the election.

German conservative Ursula von der Leyen looks likely to stay on as president for another five years after a strong showing for her center-right European People’s Party parliamentary group.

In an interview with Germany's Welt TV on Saturday, Chancellor Olaf Scholz said “it is clear after the results of the elections that everything indicates that there can be a second term in office for Ursula von der Leyen.” He said he believes the top job nominations could be agreed “quickly."

Von der Leyen, at the helm of the EU since 2019, led a huge drive during the pandemic to secure billions of COVID-19 vaccine doses, set up a historic post-pandemic economic recovery fund and, from 2022, drummed up support for Ukraine in its war with Russia and extended a hand to Kyiv to join the bloc.

But nothing is guaranteed. Von der Leyen's presidential style has at times riled her commission colleagues, and she is deeply unpopular in some corners of the EU Parliament, where she will need the support of 361 of the 720 lawmakers to hold on to her job.

The other big posts up for grabs are that of European Council president, held by Belgian centrist Charles Michel, and EU foreign policy chief, occupied by Josep Borrell of Spain from the center-left. The council president’s job is to broker deals between the 27 member states, while the top diplomat represents the EU on the world stage.

In Brussels, names for the big posts have circulated for months. Portuguese Socialist Prime Minister António Costa is frequently mentioned to become council president. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, well known for her tough line on Russia, has been floated as the bloc’s potential top diplomat.

French President Emmanual Macron said the aim Monday is "to try to have a quick consensus. But perhaps we need to wait until June 27-28,” when the leaders meet again in Brussels for a formal EU summit.

“I don’t want to preempt things," Macron said on Saturday. "These discussions are happening with 27 of us, so we have advanced, several of us have called each other, and I think it’s possible. I think it’s possible in the days to come, or in the week to come.’’

Von der Leyen’s own path to power in 2019 shows that the tussle over EU top jobs can be unpredictable. Then a German defense minister somewhat tainted by scandal in her ministry, von der Leyen was a relative unknown in Brussels when her name was raised by leaders in closed-door discussions.

Back then, the support of her close ally, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Macron helped her clinch the nomination. Given the current balance of power in Europe, it’s hard to imagine Macron and Scholz pulling a major surprise this time.

Scholz is licking his wounds after his Social Democrats took a drubbing, while Macron is tied up with the snap elections he called last week in a risky bid to see off the far right.

In a secret ballot in 2019, von der Leyen made it over the line with 383 votes, nail bitingly close to the threshold of 374. She was an unpopular nominee because she had not campaigned in elections as a lead candidate and was seen as being imposed on Parliament by the leaders.

Associated Press writers Lorne Cook and Samuel Petrequin in Brussels, Angela Charlton in Paris and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen arrives at the Ukraine peace summit in Obbürgen, Switzerland, Saturday, June 15, 2024. Switzerland is hosting scores of world leaders this weekend to try to map out the first steps toward peace in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

Germany's Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during the opening plenary session of the Summit on Peace in Ukraine, in Obbürgen, Switzerland, Saturday June 15, 2024. Switzerland is hosting scores of world leaders this weekend to try to map out the first steps toward peace in Ukraine. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP)

President Emmanuel Macron of France speaks during the opening plenary session, during the Summit on peace in Ukraine, in Obbürgen, Switzerland, Saturday June 15, 2024. Dozens of world leaders converged on a Swiss resort Saturday to discuss how to bring peace to war-ravaged Ukraine, though any hopes of a real breakthrough were muted by the absence of Russia. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP)

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen arrives at the Ukraine peace summit in Obbürgen, Switzerland, Saturday, June 15, 2024. Switzerland is hosting scores of world leaders this weekend to try to map out the first steps toward peace in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani)

President of European Commission Ursula von der Leyen attends the plenary session during the Summit on peace in Ukraine, in Obbürgen, Switzerland, Sunday, June 16, 2024. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP)