Paris Olympics: Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson is out of the women’s 100, making Sha’Carri Richardson an even bigger favorite

PARIS — American sprinting sensation Sha’Carri Richardson just became an even bigger favorite to claim Olympic gold.

One of Richardson’s top challengers in the women’s 100 meters revealed Wednesday that she has dropped out of the race.

Jamaica’s Shericka Jackson, a five-time Olympic medalist, told reporters during an event at the Puma House in Paris that she will focus only on the 200 during the Olympics. When asked for an explanation, Jackson said, “The decision is just to protect my body.”

In Jackson’s final pre-Olympics race in Hungary, she pulled up with a calf cramp and limped off the track. Jackson told reporters Wednesday that she’s OK but that what happened in Hungary did play a role in her decision to concentrate on one event.

Jackson’s withdrawal comes two months after an Achilles injury forced Jamaica’s two-time reigning Olympic champion, Elaine Thompson-Herah, to pull out of the Olympic games. That leaves 37-year-old Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce as the only Jamaican entered in the women’s 100 who has made an Olympic or World Championships final.

Richardson had already established herself as the favorite to win Olympic gold with the form that she has displayed over the past year.

Appearing in her first world championships last summer, Richardson took gold in the 100 and bronze in the 200. Richardson validated that performance with another victory in the women’s 100 at U.S. Olympic Trials earlier this summer, easing across the finish line in a world-leading 10.71 seconds.

Three years ago, Richardson was poised to be one of the faces of the Tokyo Olympics before she tested positive for marijuana at Olympic Trials. The positive test wiped out her victory in the women’s 100 and prevented her from competing in Tokyo.

Without Richardson, Thompson-Herah, Fraser-Pryce and Jackson swept the podium with ease in the women’s 100. Now two out of three of those Jamaican stars are no longer entered in the 100 in Paris and Richardson’s path to a potential gold medal is a little more clear.