Sha'Carri Richardson Rallies US Women to Olympic 4x100 Victory as Men Face Drought

ShaCarri Richardson secured her first Olympic gold medal with a stunning anchor leg for the United States in the 4x100 relay on Friday. Despite the rain, she delivered a remarkable performance. Unfortunately, she couldn't assist the men's team, who continued their 20-year streak without a medal at the Games.

The U.S. men's team faced an early mishap during the first exchange. Christian Coleman collided with Kenny Bednarek and awkwardly passed him while handing over the baton. This led to their disqualification for an illegal pass. The absence of 100-meter champion Noah Lyles, who withdrew due to COVID, added to their challenges.

Relay Mishaps and Disqualifications

Despite Lyles' absence, the American men's team was still considered strong contenders. However, they failed to deliver. "It just didn't happen," Coleman said. "Maybe we could have put in some more work. I just think in the moment it didn't happen." The U.S. men's team was disqualified, continuing their disappointing streak.

Andre De Grasse brought some positivity by anchoring Canada to gold in 37.50 seconds. This marked his first medal in Paris and his seventh overall. South Africa finished second, and Britain secured third place.

Richardson's Triumph

Richardson's performance contrasted sharply with the men's race. Her smooth baton passes and speed led the U.S. women's team to victory in 41.78 seconds, narrowly beating Britain by .07 seconds despite Britain's struggles with baton changes in the rain.

Gabby Thomas ran the third leg, earning her second gold of the Games alongside her 200-meter title. Twanisha Terry and Melissa Jefferson, who won bronze in the 100 meters, completed the team. The exchange between Terry and Thomas, which nearly caused issues in qualifying, was much improved this time.

Challenges for U.S. Men's Team

The men's team faced another bad pass that will likely lead to more questions about their program's consistency. Some might attribute this to a late lineup change. Lyles, who anchored last year's world championship victory, was replaced by Kerley for this event.

Kerley received the baton from Bednarek after Coleman handed it off awkwardly during qualifying without any major issues. However, this time it resulted in a costly mistake.

"At the end of the day, we knew what we could do," said Kyree King, who finished seventh after running the third leg of a race where the U.S. ended up disqualified. "We came out here with a mindset of no risk, no reward, so we went out there and went big. It didn't happen."

The women's team's victory provided a sweet conclusion for Richardson after an unexpected loss to Julien Alfred of St. Lucia earlier in the Olympics.

"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.

The men's team's ongoing struggles highlight a need for improvement and consistency as they look ahead to future competitions.