4 Reasons Why Sha’Carri Richardson Settled for Silver at Paris Olympics

Sha’Carri Richardson is not just back; she’s better—but she’s still not the best! The bright sun of August 4 may have soaked up the previous night’s rain from the purple track at Stade de France, but the aftereffects of the stormy women’s 100-meter finals still linger. Julien Alfred won the women’s 100 meters at the Paris Olympics with a time of 10.72 seconds. Sha’Carri Richardson took silver with a finish of 10.87 seconds. Melissa Jefferson claimed bronze with a time of 10.92 seconds.

While track and field fans worldwide applaud the newly crowned and well-deserving Olympic champion, Julien Alfred, questions about Sha’Carri Richardson and her silver finish keep popping up. Before the semifinals, her path seemed clear, with the hope for gold almost within arm’s reach. And why wouldn’t it have seemed that way?

Sha’Carri had been dominating every 100-meter sprint of the Olympic year up until the Paris Olympics semifinals. She boasted the 2023 World Championship title, having outrun the Jamaican podium finishers from the 2021 Tokyo Olympics—Shericka Jackson and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce—to claim the title.

Her blazing 2024 world lead time of 10.71 still stands, and with “mommy rocket” pulling out just before the semis, there was no Jamaican threat on her path to gold at the Paris Olympics women’s 100-meter finals. So what are a few reasons that could have worked against her at the Paris Olympics finals?

What dampened Sha’Carri Richardson’s golden dreams?

Reason 1: The Wet Track: Picture this—just before the sun set ahead of the women’s 100-meter final, rain decided to crash the party over France’s largest stadium. In a twist of irony, the roof covered the stands inside Stade de France but left the track soaking. It was dark and chilly, with finalists warming up in light track jackets, camera operators juggling umbrellas, and helicopters havering up above.

The gun sounded, and off they went. But could the weather have rained on Sha’Carri’s parade? Sprinters typically shrug off rain thanks to their trusty spikes and modern tracks, but cold weather? That’s a speed killer. Yet they took their places, so it seems unlikely the weather was the main culprit. But this was just one piece of the puzzle in Sha’Carri’s unexpected night and the reasons that might have contributed to her second-place finish!

Reason 2: A warm-up fiasco ahead of her big night: Sha’Carri Richardson’s Olympic debut was anything but smooth on the night of the semi-finals and finals on August 3. Right from the start, she and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce had their warm-up plans derailed by a sudden rule change: athletes now had to arrive on the team bus to access the warm-up area.

Shelly-Ann, who wasn’t staying at the village, found herself locked out, and Sha’Carri, caught in the same mess, was left outside, too. Fraser-Pryce, usually a pro at navigating these situations, was blocked by security and had to angrily walk away to another entry, with Richardson following. All of this was captured on video by a fellow athlete. And like so, things didn’t improve on the track either!

Reason 3: It all started with a bad start: As the gun sounded off on the purple track for the sprint of their lives, Sha’Carri Richardson stumbled out of the blocks, finishing last early on, while Tina Clayton of Jamaica bolted ahead like a rocket. Julien Alfred quickly took the lead, leaving Sha’Carri struggling to catch up. She eventually found her stride, overtaking three competitors in the final meters, but it wasn’t enough to grab gold.

Sha’Carri Richardson’s reaction times in the 100-meter at the 2024 Olympics highlighted her struggles with starts. In the prelims, her reaction time of .200 seconds was the 69th fastest out of 72 runners, indicating a slow start. In the semifinals, she improved slightly with a reaction time of .191 seconds, ranking 24th out of 26. However, in the final, her reaction time of .221 seconds was the slowest of all 8 finalists, reflecting significant difficulties in getting off the blocks quickly during the decisive race. Fans on X were also vocal about Sha’Carri Richardson’s poor start, expressing displeasure!

One wrote, “Sha’Carri Richardson’s start is abysmal,” noting her major loss at the blocks, while another said, “Sha’Carri Richardson 🥹 you ran way better times, another bad start,” pointing out her 10.71 world lead. Another fan added, “Sha’Carri Richardson gotta work on her slow start. It always looks like she’s playing catch-up,” echoing concerns from the US Olympic trials, where her stumbling start still led to victories in the semifinal in 10.86 seconds and her heat in Round 1 in 10.88 seconds.

Reason 4: Long nails affecting her start?: The discussion around her poor starts has even sparked debates on LetsRun.com, with one discussion, “Sha’Carri’s nails are causing her bad starts,” doing the rounds. One fan suggested, “She can’t get proper leverage or balance in the blocks because of the way she has to put her hands on the track.” Others countered, with one noting, “Gail Devers ran with long fake nails back in the day too and she had the best starts in American history.”

While another argued, “Didn’t Flo Jo wear even longer nails? Keni Harrison wore nails for a while too. I even think Felix wore them for a couple races. Pretty sure that’s not the reason.” Lastly, many noticed Sha’Carri didn’t seem like herself. On TV, she appeared to be taking short, quick breaths right before the race, which didn’t inspire confidence. Could the pressure of breaking a 28-year gold drought, the warm-up chaos, and the world’s eyes on her have rattled her nerves?

Despite the bumps in the road, it’s impressive to see Sha’Carri Richardson snag a podium spot in her Olympic debut. The gold drought for the U.S. has continued since 1996, but Richardson took silver in 10.87 seconds, with Melissa Jefferson grabbing bronze in 10.92 seconds. For the first time in nearly three decades, two American women were on the 100-meter podium, proving that while gold might still be elusive, American sprinting is far from out of the race.

As we reflect on all the hurdles and reasons behind Sha’Carri Richardson’s performance, it’s remarkable that she still managed to podium. Do you think these factors held her back? Share your thoughts in the comments below!