SAINT-DENIS, France — Sha’Carri Richardson, down to one knee on the wet track, looked up at the video screen. Whatever she saw, maybe the final times of the replay of the race, was confirmation of what must have felt surreal. Second place.
Richardson nodded, as if she was approving her reality. Accepting the challenge. Then she stood up, clapped calmly with her palms, then did her ritual of kissing her hand and pointed toward the heavens. A measured smile on her face, staring into the cheering sea of fans, she looked torn.
Something about winning a silver medal on her sport’s biggest stage must feel good. To make it from Oak Cliff in Texas to the podium in the Olympics is a dream come true. Something about winning a silver medal on her sport’s biggest stage must also be unfulfilling. Disappointing. Expectations alter paradigms.
A silver medal is good, which makes it the enemy of the great she’s supposed to become. This was supposed to be her moment. This night was supposed to end with a crown on her head as the queen of sprint. The fastest woman in the world. Only a gold medal seems worthy of her ability.
But if anyone knows this truth, it’s Richardson: when it’s not your time, it’s not your time.
She waited three extra years to make her Olympic debut, thanks to a failed marijuana test that led to a ban a month before the Tokyo Games. Now, she must wait four more years if she is to scale this mountain. Her anointing was delayed again.
Julien Alfred just won the FIRST Olympic medal EVER for Saint Lucia! 🇱🇨 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/2GP4jATT2g
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024
Because this night belonged to Julien Alfred and her nation, Saint Lucia, both of which won their first gold medal in track and field. She left no doubt about to whom this stage belonged. Alfred beat Richardson twice, in their semifinal heat together and in the race for the medal, the latter more convincing than the first.
Alfred was so blazing that Richardson didn’t even threaten her. Alfred won the women’s 100-meter dash in 10.72 seconds, claiming the first medal of any kind for her home country. Richardson’s time of 10.87 was good enough to win a silver, her first Olympic medal.
American Melissa Jefferson’s 10.92 was good for bronze.
“One thing I told myself was, ‘You are not going to leave here disappointed, upset and empty-handed,’” Jefferson said. “And here we are.”
Richardson’s issues out of the blocks put her in major holes to start both races Saturday. She normally overcomes it with her vaunted closing speed. And she managed some decent times, including 10.89 in the semifinals. But she wasn’t catching Alfred. Not on this night.
This is not uncommon in sprinting. Great talents have great nights. Richardson has been both victor and victim of singular greatness.
Still, this was all set up for the coronation of Sha’Carri. She’s been dominant all year, the No. 1 ranked sprinter in the 100.
Jamaica, which has owned women’s sprinting, was down its three best sprinters. Defending champion Elaine Thompson-Herah and projected future champ Shericka Jackson pulled out earlier. Legendary Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was a late scratch in the semifinals.
The door was wide open for Richardson. Alfred ran through it faster.
SAINT LUCIA TO THE WORLD ‼️
🇱🇨’s Julien Alfred storms to the Olympic 100m gold medal with 10.72 🤩
That’s the first medal in the history of the Olympic Games for her country. #Paris2024 #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/3c92Ql9EoP
— World Athletics (@WorldAthletics) August 3, 2024
Richardson could still win a gold medal in the 4×100 relay on Aug. 9. The U.S. figures to be the heavy favorite, especially if Jamaica is compromised. But the 100 is the marquee event. It’s her main flex. It’s her calling.
Richardson missed out on delivering the United States’ first gold medal in the women’s 100 meters since Gail Devers in 1996. She also failed to return the glory of gold back to American women, a quest they’ve been on since Marion Jones was stripped of her gold medals from the 2000 Sydney Games.
Richardson was seen as the one to do it, to restore the United States as a track and field power. She has all the makings of the one. The talent. The work ethic. The superstar personality and the accouterments. Her worthiness is unquestionable.
It was proven in the 2023 World Championships when she beat all the best in Budapest. Saturday’s loss was so stunning because of how formidable she’s been in 2024.
What she is missing is Olympic gold. Thus, her anointing as an American track legend has been rain-checked. Though she’s proven to be one of the best in the world, legacies are built on the Olympic stage.
Until she gets an Olympic gold, the prophecy of her greatness remains unfilled. That’s the burden of Sha’Carri.
The questions about whether she is the next great American sprinter will come and linger in the interim. She opted not to answer questions after the race. But they’ll be there until Los Angeles 2028.
It feels inevitable she’ll get there, to the pinnacle of the sport. She’s all of 24 years old. She’s still a special talent. And if how she’s handled adversity to this point is any indication, she’ll grow from this, too.
A defining moment on American soil would be a fitting climax to the epic journey. In Los Angeles, the capital of scripts? The idea has some poetry to it. She just has to wait four more years.
Required reading
(Photo of Sha’Carri Richardson and Julien Alfred: Benoit Doppagne / Belga Mag / AFP via Getty Images)
