U.S. women win 4×100 relay to give Sha’Carri Richardson first Olympic gold medal
Sha’Carri Richardson secured her first Olympic gold medal after a thundering anchor leg in the women’s 4×100 relay on Friday.
The Americans – Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry – braved a wet track in rainy conditions to win the team’s 12th Olympic medal in the event. They did it in a time of 41.78 seconds – a season-best.
Thomas ran the third leg and got her second gold medal in the Games. Her first gold was in the 200-meter on Tuesday.
When Thomas handed off to Richardson, the U.S. was in third place.
Richardson had to reel in Britian’s Daryll Neita and Germany’s Rebekka Haase, and when she did, she flashed a look to her right — and backward — that said ″you’re not catching me.”
She sprinted eight more steps down the track, and on her ninth, lifted her left leg high and stomped it on the other side of the finish line, then let out a scream.
It marked a sweet close to the Olympics for Richardson, who came into the Olympics as a favorite but surprisingly fell to Julien Alfred of St. Lucia in the 100-meter race.
Great Britain and Germany came in second and third respectively.
American men disqualified in 4×100 relay
As the women were celebrating their gold medal, the U.S. men’s team extended its drought to 20 years without a medal in the Olympic 4×100 relay. They were disqualified for an illegal pass after Christan Coleman crashed into teammate Kenny Bednarek while making the exchange between the first and second legs.
Andre De Grasse put a bright mark on an otherwise disappointing Olympics by anchoring Canada to gold in a time of 37.50 seconds. It was the first medal in Paris for De Grasse, but his seventh overall. South Africa finished second and Britain third.
Before the race, even without Noah Lyles, who was out of the lineup due to COVID, it looked like America’s race to lose. They have a knack for doing just that. The only time the U.S. has captured a medal over the last two decades was in 2012, but that got stripped for a doping violation.
