Sha'Carri Richardson makes feelings clear after USA teammate outshines her at Olympics

Sha'Carri Richardson, the Team USA sprinter, has extended her congratulations to compatriot Ryan Crouser on his gold medal win at the Paris Olympics, but has remained silent following Gabby Thomas's victory in the women's 200m .

Crouser bagged his third consecutive Olympic gold in the men's shot put, with Joe Kovacs, another American, securing silver.

Richardson, who snagged a silver in the women's 100m, shared a photo with the Team USA duo on Instagram , sporting her own medal and captioning it "So proud."

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The US continues to lead the Olympic medals tally with 27 golds among its total haul of 94 (35 silver, 32 bronze).

Richardson is eyeing her first Olympic gold in the women's 4x100 relay on Friday, assuming Team USA makes it through the qualifiers. They're set to face off against Italy, Belgium, and Switzerland in Thursday's qualifying heat.

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With a formidable lineup of sprinters, Team USA is tipped as a top contender for the 4x100m relay. In the women's 100m, Richardson was outpaced by St Lucia's Julien Alfred, who clinched the nation's first-ever Olympic gold.

Richardson had her sights set on the women's 200m, a title she claimed at the 2023 World Championships, but came up short by placing fourth in the U. S.

Olympic trials in June. Her 4x100m relay mates Thomas, McKenzie Long, and Brittany Brown secured the hotly-contested spots.

While Richardson watched from sidelines, Thomas snagged the coveted gold, redeeming her fellow American athlete after outpacing Alfred to victory. Despite this significant triumph and being celebrated as "Wonder Woman" by her team on social media, Richardson has yet to publicly hail Thomas for the dazzling achievement.

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The friction between the runners stems from incidents before the previous Olympics in Tokyo, where Richardson missed out due to a positive test for THC. She said she turned to cannabis following her biological mother's death and challenged the suspension.

Fans rallied behind Richardson, contemplating a boycott of the Olympics in solidarity, prompting Thomas to oppose such action, hence igniting the tension.

Thomas expressed her pain on social media amid boycott rumours, saying: "It really hurts to see so many black people choosing not to watch the Olympics this year," also stating, "There are so many black athletes who have put in YEARS of hard work for this moment- myself included. We want your support."

She continued by expressing concern about misplaced anger: "Additionally, I worry some of the anger and disdain may be misplaced. The 'Olympics' and those at the IOC have nothing to do with current events taking place."

Richardson fired back at Thomas with a personal jab in a now-deleted tweet, remarking, "Athletes that haven't and will never beat me have a lot to say about or surrounding my situation," asserting her dominance and indicating the true characters of fellow athletes behind closed doors: "When most of them have said nothing to me showing their characters that y'all don't see behind the races. The attention that is on track now was because of very very few names. So if that's where fans support lay, you can't be mad at that."

Richardson then touched on the heart of the fans' allegiance: "When most of them have said nothing to me showing their characters that y'all don't see behind the races. The attention that is on track now was because of very very few names. So if that's where fans support lay, you can't be mad at that."

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