Is winning an Olympic Silver medal not considered a success anymore? With 14 gold medals, the United States is currently sitting second in the medals tally at the Paris Olympics. The 15th was expected in the women’s 100m with the pre-race favorite Sha’Carri Richardson in action at the Stade de France. However, the world saw a brand new Olympic champion in St. Lucia’s Julien Alfred, who scripted history in just 10.72 seconds. Richardson, who clocked 10.87 on the finish line, still managed to make the country proud by grabbing the 24th silver for the US at the event. While many seem to be disappointed with this development, it seems that the basketball fraternity stands behind her.

Soon after the results, news agency Nola broke the news. On their official X page, they posted the headline, “LSU’s Sha’Carri Richardson settles for silver in the Olympic women’s 100-meter dash”. Anyhow, the way it was presented didn’t impress the 6’7 Dallas Wings center, Kalani Brown. Expressing her disapproval, she wrote, “Horrible headline.. “Settles” is crazy.” In addition to this, 3x National Championship-winning coach Dawn Staley also displayed her pride at witnessing Richardson win Silver.

The 2024 Jimmy V Award winner witnessed the action unfold before her eyes as she was present in the stands. After the race’s conclusion, she tweeted, “#nikeathletethinktank you never know who you might meet, see, converse, learn, grow and enlarge your circle! Congrats to @itsshacarri @Melissajanae21 on medaling!! We are proud!”

The 54-year-old head coach of the South Carolina Gamecocks is a staunch supporter of Richardson. This was evident from an Instagram post of hers 3 days prior to the competition. The post features a picture of them captioned, “Coach there’s a goat here. No Coach there’s a goat here!! @itsshacarri. In my @aflac voice…🤣🤣🤣. ” More fans also took to social media to express their delight at the result as the US won not only the Silver but also the Bronze in the 100m race.

 Melissa Jefferson joins Sha’Carri Richardson at the podium

Many fans agreed with Kelani Brown’s tweet calling out the headline. One of them was even ready to take legal steps. “I’d sue tbh. Diminishing the work of the gold medalist and Sha’Carri,” the fan wrote. On the same lines, another fan pointed out how disrespectful this headline was to the St. Lucia sprinter, writing, “Nah fr! That’s diminishing Julien Alfred great dash from Saint Lucia.” Not only did Alfred win the Gold, but she also became her country’s first-ever medallist.

More than Richardson “settling” for second, it was Alfred who earned the Gold. Nonetheless, fans made sure to appreciate everyone for even getting a chance to stand on the podium. Interestingly, for the first time in 28 years, two American runners have ended up in the top 3 positions at the event. Melissa Jefferson, who completed the race with an official time of 10.92, secured a bronze medal and this takes the US medal tally to 61. But how did it come to this?

The start of the race was not too convincing for Sha’Carri Richardson. She trailed Alfred in the first 30 meters itself. It was only her top-end speed in the remaining half of the race that got her the momentum to break away from the rest of the competitors and claim the second spot.

Regardless of the result, it was a great moment for Richardson and Jefferson. And fittingly, they’re getting all the support from some of the eminent ambassadors of the basketball world.

Stay tuned for more such updates. And, join us for the exciting pilot episode of the “Dual Threat Show”. Our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and SEC All-Freshman Team Selection, Silas Demary Jr.