JAREEM Richards delivered another world-class performance on March 17, clocking 19.63 seconds to finish second in the men’s 200 metres at the Adidas Atlanta City Games in Georgia While his time bettered the 19.77 seconds national record set by Ato Boldon in 1997, the race was contested on a straightaway track in Atlanta’s Piedmont Park – a configuration which disqualifies it from official national record ratification under World Athletics and NAAA TT regulations. The event was run with a 2.2 metres per second tailwind, within the allowable limit for record eligibility in conventional settings. However, World Athletics does not recognise performances on straight 200m tracks for official records, nor does the NAAA TT, meaning Richards’ time will not replace Boldon’s mark in the official national record books. The race was won by Great Britain’s Zharnel Hughes in 19.55, while South African Wayde van Niekerk, the 400m world record-holder, finished third in 20.03. Richards, 31, entered the meet in strong form after running a world-leading 19.86 seconds to win the men’s 200m at the inaugural Grand Slam Track event in Miami on May 2, edging Dominican Republic’s Alexander Ogando by 0.002 seconds. The TT sprinter has been one of the region’s most consistent international performers in recent years, securing gold in the men’s 400m at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and anchoring the men’s 4x400m relay team to victory at the 2017 World Championships in London. He was also a 200m finalist at the 2017 World Championships and placed fourth in the men’s 400m at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Following his Miami victory earlier this month, Richards indicated he would be targeting the national 200m record this season. “I just want to keep on getting better, keep executing, improving on my race. And from there, we would see what I could do. I would like to at least finish my career with the national record in the 400m, which I currently have, and the 200m, because I’m so close to it,” Richards said at the time. The Adidas Atlanta City Games featured a highly competitive men’s 200m field. Hughes, who ran a 19.73 last season, capitalised on favourable conditions to claim victory. Van Niekerk, competing in his season opener, managed a respectable 20.03, though he appeared to ease up near the finish. Richards will continue his 2025 campaign on May 30 at the Grand Slam Track’s next stop in Philadelphia, part of a new international series conceptualised by American sprint legend Michael Johnson. The TT athlete currently leads the 200m standings in the series after two meets. His Atlanta performance also ranks among the fastest 200m times globally for the 2025 season as the build-up continues toward the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo this August.