In her first Olympic appearance, Sha’Carri Richardson earned the silver medal in the women’s 100-meter race.
Gold went to Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia with a time of 10.72 seconds, while USA’s Melissa Jefferson took home the bronze.
This marks the first occasion since 1996 that two American athletes have medaled in this event.
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Sha’Carri Richardson of Team USA celebrates during the Women’s 100m Round 1 on day seven of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France on August 02, 2024, in Paris, France. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
The 24-year-old athlete was initially set to compete in Tokyo three years ago, but a positive test for cannabis led to a one-month suspension from the United States Anti-Doping Agency, rendering her ineligible for the 100-meter race. Consequently, she was also excluded from the 4×100 relay team, postponing her Olympic debut until now.
Last year, Richardson clinched the title at the world championships in Budapest with a personal best of 10.65, positioning her as a strong contender for gold in Paris, but she fell short by just 15-hundredths of a second.
Sha’Carri Richardson of Team USA (center) and Julien Alfred of Team Saint Lucia (right) after the women’s 100m semifinals at the Stade de France during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games. (Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
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According to the Olympics site, Richardson’s reaction time was recorded at 0.221 seconds, the slowest among the eight finalists, while Alfred’s was a quicker 0.144 seconds. This detail emphasizes why Richardson struggled to catch up from behind at the start.
This is the first time since 2004 that the gold medal in the women’s 100 meters was not awarded to a Jamaican competitor.
The United States has been eager for a winner in this event – Marion Jones was the last American female to do so, in 2000, but she was later stripped of her medal due to doping violations. Gail Devers was the winner in 1996 by a narrow margin.
In fact, no American has won an Olympic 100-meter race since Justin Gatlin’s victory in 2004.
Sha’Carri Richardson of Team USA (center) and Julien Alfred of Team Saint Lucia (right) after the women’s 100m semifinals at the Stade de France during the 2024 Paris Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France. (Sam Barnes/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
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Although Richardson did not qualify for the 200 meters, she is likely to participate in the 4×100 meter relay, seeking redemption after the United States’ loss to Jamaica in Tokyo, where they had previously secured gold in 2016.
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