Paris Olympics: Sha'Carri Richardson wins her first gold as part of 4x100 relay

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SAINT-DENIS, France — Sha’Carri Richardson has her gold at last. Richardson and the rest of Team USA’s 4x100 women’s relay team triumphed on Friday night, bringing home gold. The victory is the sweetest of prizes for Richardson, who had missed out on opportunities to win gold in both Tokyo and earlier in these Games. The team from Great Britain finished in the silver medal position, and Germany won bronze.

Under a steady drizzle, the team of Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry, Gabby Thomas and Richardson started in the fifth lane, with Jamaica on one side and France on the other. Team USA entered the stadium from a tunnel with a calm, determined stride, a brief pose and then a quick jog to their stations.

Richardson had rescued the USA in the semifinal relay on Thursday, coming from behind to erase a deficit caused by a bad handoff. In the second-to-third-leg handoff, Thomas appeared to leave too early and needed to slow down to take the baton from Terry. Team USA came very close to a disqualification, but Thomas had begun to take the baton before leaving the passing zone.

Once Thomas covered her leg, Richardson was roughly three steps off the lead, but a late kick allowed her to finish in first, .19 seconds ahead of the German competition, for a team time of 41.94. That was enough to put the United States in prime position for Friday night’s final, and Team USA took full advantage of the opportunity.

For Richardson, this gold medal is sweet validation of a career spent chasing Olympic glory. She won silver earlier these Games in the 100m, a notable achievement but not the medal she had sought. In 2021, she had qualified for the Tokyo Olympics, but lost her slot after testing positive for marijuana use.

Just 24, Richardson will have the opportunity to continue to build her Olympic legacy in Los Angeles in 2028.