Sha'Carri Richardson's comeback story hit a brick wall Saturday when Julien Alfred romped to the 100-meter title in 10.72 seconds to blow away the field and bring the first-ever Olympic medal to her island country of Saint Lucia.
Racing one lane to the left of Richardson, and with rain puddling on the purple track in the Stade de France, Alfred got off to a fantastic start and beat Richardson by .15 seconds — about three body lengths.
It was the biggest margin in the women's Olympic 100 since 2008.
Richardson' training partner, American Melissa Jefferson, finished third in 10.92 seconds.
All week long, the field seemed to be clearing for Richardson, the reigning world 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 Shelly-Ann 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.
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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. 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 lined up 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 had two steps on the entire field at the 40-meter mark, while Richardson, whose starts have been an issue at times this summer, 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.
The Dallas native's journey to the Olympics hasn't been easy. She qualified for the 2021 Olympic team by winning the 100-meter event at the trials, but she was later disqualified after testing positive for THC, the chemical in cannabis.
She returned to the track at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic, finishing ninth. She returned to Olympic form nearly two years later, officially kicking off her revenge tour.
She won the 100m at the U.S. Track and Field Championships in a time of 10.82 seconds. She then claimed the title of fastest woman in the world with her 100m win at the 2023 World Athletic Championships in Budapest. She went on to kick off the Olympic year with a win at the Prefontaine Classic in a time of 10.83 seconds.
"I'm better, I'm stronger and I'm wiser," Richardson told NBC in an interview last month. "I just knew that I was in a different position that I've never been in my entire life."
Richardson will compete on the following days:
- Women's 100m: Friday, Aug. 2, to Saturday, Aug. 3
- Women's 200m: Sunday, Aug. 4, to Tuesday, Aug. 6
- Women's 4x100m Relay (lineups not yet announced): Thursday, Aug. 8, to Friday, Aug. 9
