Sha’Carri Richardson’s comeback story hit a brick wall Saturday when Julien Alfred romped in the rain to the 100-meter title in 10.72 seconds to bring the first-ever Olympic medal to her island country of Saint Lucia.
Racing one lane to the left of Richardson, and with water from a fast-moving storm puddling on the purple track in the Stade de France, Alfred got off to a fantastic start, then powered through the rain and beat Richardson by .15 seconds — about three body lengths.
It was the biggest margin in the women’s Olympic 100 since 2008, when Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won by .20 to headline a Jamaican sweep.
Richardson’ training partner, American Melissa Jefferson, finished third in 10.92 seconds.
RELATED STORY | Biles holds off Brazil’s Andrade to win Olympic gold in women’s all-around
All week long, the field seemed to be clearing for Richardson, the reigning world and national champion who was making her Olympic debut after a positive test for marijuana cost her a chance to race three years ago in Tokyo.
When Fraser-Pryce abruptly withdrew from the semifinal, which went off about 90 minutes before the gold-medal race, the entire Jamaican team that had swept the podium in Tokyo was out of the 100.
One island’s loss is another’s gain.
The strongest contender left was Alfred, who hails from the Eastern Caribbean island with a population of around 180,000 and, legend has it, caught the attention of her school librarian while running against boys in first and second grades.
Alfred moved to Jamaica as a teenager to train, then went to the University of Texas. She was the only Olympic entrant besides Richardson to break 10.8 this year — and when she and Richardson lined up next to each other in the semifinals, it was a preview of things to come.
Alfred won that race by .05, then raced next to Richardson again for the final and tripled that margin.
One of the most anticipated races of the Olympic track meet was never a contest.
Alfred, who won the world indoor title at 60 meters, started strong in this one and had two steps on the entire field at the 40-meter mark. Richardson’s starts have been an issue at times this summer, and she labored to get to full speed.
The American, her arms pumping wide in Lane 7, looked to be making up a bit of ground when Alfred leaned into the finish line. But there was too big a gap between them and the real contest was the one between Richardson and Jefferson for second.
And so, Richardson’s uplifting comeback story ends with a fizzle, or maybe just takes a detour.
With her audacious hairstyles and fingernails, she came into the Olympics much-hyped by NBC and a few key sponsors. She was trying to write a new chapter in a story that took a dark turn in 2021, shortly after she learned of the death of her biological mother.
That triggered a bout with depression, which left her alone in her hotel room at Olympic trials, which is where she said she used marijuana. It took two years for her to climb back to the pinnacle — that came last year at worlds in Hungary, when she won the 100-meter title.
A constant presence on NBC’s Olympic promotions, she looked ready for an encore on an even bigger stage. Given where she was at the last Olympics, a silver medal, with a chance for more next week in the 4×100 relays, isn’t bad.
But hardly anyone had her playing second fiddle to the sprinter from Saint Lucia in this one.
America gets gold, silver and bronze elsewhere on Day 2
America’s lone gold medal of the day came from Ryan Crouser, who earned a three-peat in the shot put. Another American silver went to the 4×400 mixed relay team, which got reeled in by Femke Bol of the Netherlands in the anchor lap.
Jasmine Moore won a bronze medal in the triple jump competition, won by Thea Lafond, setting herself up for a possible double when she competes in long jump later this week.
Earlier in the day, Noah Lyles finished second (10.04) in a sluggish first-round qualifying heat to make the semifinals in the men’s 100. The semifinals and finals for that are set for Sunday.
