Sha’Carri Richardson has won her first Olympic medal!
She had high hopes of securing the title of the fastest woman in the world, but a competitor from Saint Lucia ended up landing the gold.
The Stade de France was packed with fans cheering for Richardson, but 23-year-old Julien Alfred won the 100-meter title in 10.72 seconds, marking the largest margin in women’s Olympic 100 meters since 2008, when Jamaican star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce won by .20. Notably, the 27-year-old and her team were absent from the relay this year, CBS News reported.
Richardson’s training partner and U.S. teammate, Melissa Jefferson, took the bronze. this year. Though Team USA didn’t get the gold, this was the first time that two Americans were at the podium in the women’s 100m.
It’s been 28 years since Team USA sent two women to the podium in the 100 at the Olympic Games.
In 1996, Gail Devers and Gwen Torrence took gold and bronze in Atlanta. Last night, Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson earned silver and bronze at #Paris2024 🤩🇺🇸… pic.twitter.com/ULJmJPzt6x
— USATF (@usatf) August 4, 2024
The weather did not deter the 23-year-old from sprinting across the finish line, securing the 100-meter title with a time of 10.72 seconds. She edged out Richardson by 0.15 seconds, earning Saint Lucia its first-ever Olympic medal.
Julien Alfred just won the FIRST Olympic medal EVER for Saint Lucia! 🇱🇨 #ParisOlympics pic.twitter.com/2GP4jATT2g
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 3, 2024
Alfred won her first gold Olympic medal and the first for St. Lucia, bringing a victory to the island with a population of around 180,000.
She shared how happy she was to represent her homeland at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“I feel honored to be an ambassador for my country,” Alfred told USA Today. “I was hoping we could get our first medal and it came as a gold, I’m sure they’re celebrating back home right now.”
Saint Lucia had never won an Olympic medal, ever, until this evening.
The people of Castries gathered to watch Julien Alfred in the women’s 100m final.
You love to see it. 🇱🇨 pic.twitter.com/EjYgb6oDhe
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) August 3, 2024
Saint Lucia's first ever Olympic champion, and it's the women's 100m.
It doesn't get better than this. 🇱🇨❤️ pic.twitter.com/HS63DLUHJ0
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) August 3, 2024
Alfred and Richardson did not attend the press conference after the race, but Jefferson spoke with reporters, expressing her joy at seeing her name at the top.
Can we take a moment to celebrate the pure joy of Melissa Jefferson after winning her 100m bronze 🥹🫶🏾
(📸 Cameron Spencer/Getty Images) pic.twitter.com/1wuNc8fwLx
— highlightHER (@HighlightHER) August 3, 2024
“I was hoping for a higher place,” Jefferson revealed, per USA Today. “But it was my first Games and I came out with a medal. Can’t complain about that … biggest thing I told myself was, ‘you are not going to leave here empty-handed’ and, here we go.”
Richardson, the reigning world and national champion, secured her first Olympic medal by finishing second to Alfred, earning the silver honor. Determined to redeem herself after being disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics for testing positive for marijuana, she saw this year as her chance to prove herself and to the world that she is here to stay.
She has another shot to win a gold medal the 4×100-meter relay race on Thursday.
