Sha'Carri Richardson won silver in the women's 100 metres on her Olympic debut in Paris, crossing the line in 10.87 seconds. The American arrived as reigning world champion and the season's fastest woman. She left the Stade de France with a medal, and a start she will want back.
A slow first stride under Paris rain
The final was run in a downpour, water pooling on the purple track. Julien Alfred, one lane to Richardson's left, took the lead from her first strides and was never seriously challenged.
At the 10-metre mark Richardson lay seventh, while Alfred reached it first. Richardson then powered through in her trademark style, but the gap was already too wide. Alfred won in 10.72, beating Richardson by 0.15 seconds — about three body lengths.
The race was tightly packed behind. The top six all dipped under 11 seconds, with Melissa Jefferson taking bronze in 10.92 and Britain's Daryll Neita fourth in 10.96.
Favourite in Paris, first US medal since 1996
Richardson had come in as the odds-on choice for gold, having run 10.71 at the US Trials and holding a personal best of 10.65. Her slow starts had become an Achilles heel, and here it cost her the title. The silver was still the first US 100m Olympic medal moment since Gail Devers won gold in 1996.
The result also broke Jamaica's hold on the event, and handed Saint Lucia its first Olympic medal in any sport. "To be at the Olympics is a phenomenal feeling," Richardson told NBC before the final, "competing with the energy, with a great appreciation for track and field."
Six days later Richardson anchored the United States to relay gold, closing her first Games with two medals and a clear place among the world's leading sprinters.
