In the women’s 4×100-meter relay on Thursday at the Stade de France in the Paris Olympics, Sha’Carri Richardson proved why she is considered one of the top sprinters in the world by putting on a show of intensity and helping the United States win its heat and move on to the final.
The Americans were kept in the lead by Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry, who raced the first two legs for Team USA, respectively.
However, there was a little panic when Terry passed the baton to gold medallist Gabby Thomas in the 200 metres; the exchange was a little shaky and caused Team USA’s pace to drop down.
However, Richardson took over for Thomas, who was still in second position, and raced a scorching anchor leg to overtake Germany’s Rebekka Haase to win the heat for the Americans in 41.94 seconds.
What a fantastic anchor leg by Sha’Carri Richardson to advance the US to the 4 x 100 m championship.
Julien Alfred shocked rivals like Sha’Carri Richardson by taking first place in the 100-meter race.
Julien Alfred of St. Lucia won the women’s 100-meter final at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, following a race characterised by relentless rain and fierce competition. The 23-year-old sprinter earned her country’s first-ever Olympic medal and set a national record with a winning time of 10.72 seconds.
Alfred made a great impression at the Stade de France from the start. She had a strong start, maintained her lead, and finished far ahead of her competitors.
The American world champion Sha’Carri Richardson finished in 10.87 seconds with the silver medal, and Melissa Jefferson finished in 10.92 seconds with the bronze.
Olympics in Paris 2024: Justin Gatlin explains why Sha’Carri Richardson didn’t perform well in the 100-meter final
Alfred’s gold medal is a significant achievement for the Caribbean country of St. Lucia, which has a population of less than 200,000. The country has competed in seven previous Olympic Games and had not taken home a medal. In addition to ending the drought, Alfred’s victory left her name forever in the annals of Olympic history.
Alfred seemed so happy as the rain started to fall. She ran far over the finish line in joy after winning her first world outdoor title, then she theatrically tore off her name badge and displayed it to the cheering crowd.
Looking back on her run to the gold medal in the Olympics, Alfred credited her success to a shift in approach that she took this year.After the race, she told the reporters, “This year, I have really been trying to focus on my lane, really concentrating on my execution and not caring about who is next to me.”
Alfred underlined that she managed her nervousness and concentrated on her own performance by not focussing on her opponents, which included elite athletes like Richardson and the renowned Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. The race’s favourite, Fraser-Pryce, was declared as DNS (Did Not Start) because of a suspected hamstring injury, which prevented him from competing.
“I tend to panic sometimes when I do [concentrate on competition], but I think I have had a good strategy this year.” My execution has been my only concern, not the people standing next to me. I believe this has worked very well for me,” Alfred continued.
Another factor in Alfred’s success was a well-planned season. This year, Alfred and her coaching staff decided to take a more cautious approach, in contrast to the previous year, when she participated in nearly 50 races.
This time around, my college career wasn’t very lengthy. I believe not having trials and my coach really just being precise in how I compete this year has been a tremendous advantage for me, she said. Last year, I ran almost 50 events.
Alfred’s strategy of giving the Olympics priority over other tournaments, like the NCAA and World Championships, worked wonders. “I believe the primary distinction is my racing schedule this year, which was centred around the Olympics rather than NCAAs and World Championships. It was all about the Olympics this year,” she said.
In addition to solidifying Julien Alfred’s place among the best sprinters in the world, her gold medal win also represents a significant turning point for St. Lucia, the island nation celebrating its first-ever Olympic winner.
On Thursday, August 8, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France, during a heat of the men’s 4 x 100-meter relay at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Jamaican athlete Ackeem Blake, right, passes the baton to teammate Jelani Walker. (Bernat Armangue/AP Photo)
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In the Olympic 4×100 relay on Thursday, Sha’Carri Richardson saved the American women from certain defeat by defeating a German runner in the anchor leg, enabling them to win their heat and advance to the gold-medal round.
Despite a minor setback, the American men, who haven’t won a medal in this competition since 2004, advanced with ease. In the most bizarre turn of events, the men from Jamaica were the ones who faltered with the baton and will watch the final on Friday from the sidelines.
Richardson was roughly three steps behind in the women’s race after Gabby Thomas, who had earlier almost made a mistake during her exchange with Twanisha Terry, gave her the baton.
Richardson was behind Rebekka Haase after that, but by the time the race was over, the silver medallist in the 100 metres was staring back at Haase. Nineteen seconds ahead of the Germans, the Americans won in 41.94 seconds.
Although there was a strange exchange at the beginning, the men’s team won easily in 37.47 seconds. Christian Coleman made sure the stick was secure by holding Fred Kerley’s wrist with his left hand while he passed the stick to him with his right.
From there, Kerley, Kyree King, and Courtney Lindsey zoomed off with the victory, and the United States defeated South Africa by about 0.5 seconds. While they got ready for the 200-meter final on Thursday night, two of the top sprinters in the nation, Noah Lyles and Kenny Bednarek, were not in the starting lineup.
This time around, Jamaica seemed like a completely different team than it did in the three Olympic relays that it won while Usain Bolt was competing. They were behind after a poor first exchange, and Jamaica was cooked when 100-meter silver medallist Kishane Thompson started out too quickly and had to settle down to get the stick for the anchor lap.
Thompson finished fourth, giving Jamaica’s women’s team their sole opportunity to add to their one sprint medal from Paris thus far in the 4×100.
