SAINT-DENIS, France — For Sha’Carri Richardson, this was a beautiful relay through the rain.
Richardson captured her first Olympic gold medal with a come-from-behind anchor leg for the United States in the Olympic women’s 4×100 on Friday.
The Americans relay was filled with smooth safe passes of a rain-slickened baton, then capped off by America’s fastest 100-meter runner.
The silver medalist from the 100 received the baton from Gabby Thomas in third place. By the halfway point of her leg, Richardson had overcome runners from Britain and Germany. She glanced to her right – and backwards – and gave a look of “you’re not catching me,” then took eight more steps. On the ninth one, Richardson slammed her left foot on the ground over the finish line and let out a yell.
The Americans won in 41.78 seconds, good for a .07-second win over Britain, which struggled with two baton changes in the rain.
“The moment that I would describe is realizing that when we won as USA ladies, it was a phenomenal feeling for all of us,” Richardson said.
Thomas ran the third leg and got her second gold of the Games, this one going with the 200-meter title. Twanisha Terry and 100 bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson rounded out the team. The exchange between Terry and Thomas that nearly wrecked the Americans in qualifying was better this time.
It marked a sweet close to the Olympics for Richardson, who came into the Olympics as the 100-meter favorite but surprisingly fell to Julien Alfred of St. Lucia.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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