SAINT-DENIS, France — Sha’Carri Richardson took the baton and ran like the track owed her a gold medal.
As the anchor of the women’s 4×100 relay, she didn’t have to worry about getting out of the blocks quickly enough. With the eliteness of the American sprinters — Melissa Jefferson handing to Twanisha Terry, handing to Gabby Thomas — you wouldn’t think she’d need to come from behind.
But on this wet Friday night at Stade de France, Richardson had a little work to do.
Run, Sha’Carri. Run.
“I just remember trusting my third leg, trusting Gabby, knowing that she’s going to put that stick in my hand no matter what,” Richardson said.
She was in fourth with 90 meters to go when she had sole possession of the baton. She surged past France instantly. At the 60-meter mark, she’d pulled even with Germany. With 20 meters to go, she knew she was home.
“Handing off to Sha’Carri is obviously incredible,” Thomas, who also won gold in the 200 meters, said. “You know she’s going to get the job done no matter where we are in the race. There is nothing like watching her run down the track and win the race for us.”
Richardson secured her first Olympic gold medal with a 10.09-second anchor leg. After taking silver in Tokyo, the U.S. finished in 41.78 seconds to reclaim the women’s 4×100 relay crown. America has now won three of the last four Olympic one-lap relays.
HERE COMES SHA’CARRI RICHARDSON!
Team USA takes GOLD in the women’s 4x100m. #ParisOlympics
📺 NBC & Peacock pic.twitter.com/ZM6qaYCQOw
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 9, 2024
This was America’s third consecutive major international championship, including the 2022 and 2023 world championship victories. It punctuated the United States’ dominant display in women’s sprints.
In Paris, the U.S. women have won gold and bronze in the 200 meters, silver and bronze in the 100 meters, gold and silver in the 400-meter hurdles, and now gold in the relay. America still has three athletes in the 100-meter hurdles: Masai Russell, Alaysha Johnson and Grace Stark.
The women’s 4×100 relay is usually a massive rivalry with the Jamaicans. But their best sprinters were unavailable. Elaine Thompson-Herah announced in June an injury would keep her out of the Olympics. Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were both late withdrawals after arriving in Paris.
But as Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred proved in the 100 meters — stunning Richardson in her Olympic final debut — the global field of sprinters is too formidable to sleep on. The Americans didn’t sleep.
Jefferson, who led off in the 2022 World Championships, didn’t get the start she wanted. But her time of 11.46 seconds was the third fastest of the opening legs. Great Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith (11.02) gave her country the early lead.
“I know when it comes to the second leg,” Terry said, “nobody can run the second leg like me.”
The one they call “Tee Tee” was indeed flying. Her 9.98-second leg made up some ground. But she wasn’t alone. Gemima Joseph of France also ran a 9.98 in the second leg.
That put pressure on Thomas.
The hand-off between Terry and Thomas was a little slow. But Thomas ate up the turn (10.25). Even though Gina Lueckenkemper of Germany was a blazing 9.89, the job was done. They got the baton to Richardson with a chance.
Terry said the less-than-perfect handoff between her and Thomas affected the final exchange. Richardson had to slow up a bit and make sure she had full control of the baton. Once she did, it was all on her back.
“She just did what Sha’Carri do,” Terry said. “Stay patient and show her top-end speed.”
Richardson yelled as he crossed the finish line, having snatched gold from the clutches of silver. So she thought, until she looked up at the scoreboard. It had “Great Britain” in the top spot.
She knew it couldn’t be right. She took the baton and ran like the track owed her a gold medal. She knew she was on her game this night at Stade de France. She knew she wasn’t beaten.
She stared at the scoreboard knowing something was wrong. Then it went blank. Typically, the unofficial order flashes on the screen first. When the official times come in, that list goes away and the videoboard re-lists the order one by one. Richardson stared at the blue screen, waiting for the official word. It just had to match what her legs told her. A few seconds felt like minutes.
United States.
Richardson roared at the screen. Flexed at the idea she didn’t win. She knew what she’d done. She ended her first Olympics right. Just like Sha’Carri.
And at the end of the night, she reminded the world how long of a journey it’s been. This Olympics was a microcosm of the 24-year-old’s roller coaster to this moment. The highs and lows. The rousing victories and heartbreak. She knows what it’s like to not get it done. To be singled out by the cruelty of a sprint race.
She knows what it’s like to be on top, to be untouchable.
Now, she knows what it’s like to be an Olympic gold medalist. As she stood on the podium, in front of fellow superstar Thomas, the reality of what it took to get here hit home. And the tears streamed down her face.
Required reading
(Photo: Jewel Samad / AFP via Getty Images)
