The Paris Olympics has felt like a redemption tour for many U.S. athletes, but none probably more so than Sha’Carri Richardson. Making a dazzling debut in her first Olympic race, Richardson clinched the silver medal in the women’s 100m, marking her first-ever Olympic medal. After her disqualification from the Tokyo Games in 2021, Richardson was determined to showcase her true potential this time around, and she did so with remarkable success.
It was a Black Girl Magic 100m final finish—Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred took home gold with a time of 10.72 seconds, with Richardson close behind at 10.87 and Melissa Jefferson from Team USA coming in at 10.92 to win bronze.
In the semi-finals Alfred beat out Richardson, and seemingly used that momentum to keep going on Saturday. Alfred “got out the blocks fast and had an early lead. She extended her lead during her drive and acceleration phases. At 60 meters, Alfred had a stride lead ahead of Richardson and the rest of the sprinters. Then Alfred’s speed maintenance to close final 20 meters to the finish line was too much,” USA Today reports.
Missing from the field was Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, whose hopes of medaling for a fifth consecutive time were dashed, after having to pull out of the semi-finals due to an injury. Before withdrawing, earlier this week Fraser-Pryce clocked the second-fastest time out of all the heats, with a remarkable 10.92 second finish. This is the end of the line for the 37-year-old’s illustrious track career after announcing earlier this year that Paris would be her fifth and final Olympic games.
But Richardson’s chase for an Olympic gold is not over. She’s slated to run as part of the Women’s 4×100 relay, which will take place next week on Thursday, August 8 and Friday August 9.
