(PARIS) — Sha’Carri Richardson took silver in the 100 meters at the Summer Games in Paris on Saturday, not quite reaching the top of the podium in her comeback bid, but clinching her first medal in the Olympics. Fellow American and training partner Melissa Jefferson finished with the bronze.
Julien Alfred, 23, of Saint Lucia, won gold in a time of 10.72 seconds as she led from start to finish on a wet track after dominating in every round leading up to the final. She competed for the University of Texas at Austin.
Saint Lucia, a tiny island in the Caribbean, had never won a medal in the Summer Olympics in any sport.
Richardson finished in a time of 10.87 seconds, well off her time from last year’s world championships, while Jefferson finished in 10.92 seconds.
It was the first time two Americans appeared on the podium since 1996 when Gail Devers won gold and Gwen Torrence took bronze. The event has been now dominated by Jamaicans for decades.
Richardson won the U.S. trials in 2021, but was disqualified after a positive test for marijuana.
With Jamaican legend Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce scratching in the semifinals, the three Jamaican women who swept the podium in Tokyo all missed the final. Elaine Thompson-Herah, who won gold in 2016 and 2021 in both the 100 and 200, dropped out of the Jamaican trials due to injury and Shericka Jackson, who took bronze in Tokyo, surprisingly pulled out of the race the day before it started to focus on the 200.
Richardson won the gold in the world championship last year in a time of 10.65 seconds.
The final featured three Americans: Richardson, Jefferson and Twanisha Terry. It was the first time all three American women made a 100-meter final.
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