Sha’Carri Richardson made her Olympic gold medal debut unforgettable by giving the sprinters behind her a confident side-eye and stomping her foot on the track as she crossed the finish line.
After her victory, she watched the U.S. men’s team struggle in the 4×100 relay, extending their 20-year medal drought at the Olympics.
Richardson, who won silver in the 100 meters last weekend, surged from third to first in the anchor leg, securing victory for the U.S. team. “I felt very comfortable with these ladies,” she said, referring to her teammates, which included her training partners: 100-meter bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry, and 200-meter champion Gabby Thomas.
U.S. Men’s Team Struggles
The U.S. men’s team faced a disastrous exchange during the race, racing without Noah Lyles—who withdrew after winning bronze in the 200 due to COVID. Christian Coleman collided with Kenny Bednarek, awkwardly passing the baton, and Fred Kerley took over in seventh place. The team was ultimately disqualified for an illegal baton exchange.
“It just didn’t happen,” Coleman admitted. “Maybe we could have put in more work. I think at the moment it didn’t happen.” With the U.S. out of contention, Canada’s Andre De Grasse anchored his team to gold in 37.50 seconds, marking Canada’s first medal in the one-lap relay since 1996.
De Grasse credited their success to their long-standing teamwork: “We’ve been together since 2021, or even 2019. We all train in Florida and always practice for this moment.”
In the final race of the evening, American Rai Benjamin stepped out of the shadow of world record holder Karsten Warholm to claim his first major individual title, finishing in 46.46 seconds. Brazil’s Alison dos Santos took third, repeating the podium from the previous Olympics.
Carl Lewis, a two-time Olympic winner in the relay, expressed his frustration with the U.S. men’s performance, stating, “It is time to blow up the system. This continues to be completely unacceptable.” He criticized USA Track and Field for prioritizing relationships over winning and suggested creating a relay manual for coaches.
Some may attribute the men’s failure to lineup changes, as Lyles, who anchored the U.S. victory at the world championships, was not part of the team. Instead, Kerley took on the anchor role, and Bednarek ran second, leading to a problematic baton exchange.
Richardson’s Victory Celebration
Despite the men’s struggles, Richardson and her teammates executed smooth baton passes, culminating in a winning time of 41.78 seconds, edging Britain by 0.07 seconds. The earlier mishap in qualifying was now just a distant memory, and Richardson celebrated her well-deserved Olympic victory.
“I just remember trusting Gabby and knowing that she would put the baton in my hand no matter what,” Richardson said. “I left my best on the track.”
Other Notable Performances
In other events, Nafissatou Thiam of Belgium won her third consecutive Olympic heptathlon title, while Yemisi Ogunleye of Germany triumphed in the women’s shot put. Marileidy Paulino set an Olympic record in the 400 meters, and Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet completed the 5,000-10,000 double.
As the Games progressed, Sifan Hassan added a bronze in the 10,000 meters to her earlier 5,000 meters medal, preparing for the marathon on Sunday.
Sha’Carri Richardson got the baton in 4th place and took the USA all the way to GOLD in the women’s 4×100. pic.twitter.com/Sl7h8Jg6gA
— mail l. silver (@silver14300) August 10, 2024
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