Team USA’s Sha’Carri Richardson takes silver and Melissa Jefferson bronze in women’s 100m upset.
Sha'Carri Richardson sprinted to silver at the 2024 Olympics on Saturday, earning her first medal of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
The win is a redemption for the track and field star, who controversially missed the Tokyo Olympics following a suspension three years ago.
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The 24-year-old was not allowed to compete in the Tokyo Olympics despite qualifying at the Track and Field trials due to a one-month suspension for testing positive for the active ingredient in marijuana.
She has since dominated in the 100m, winning gold at the 2023 world championships and clocking the top time at U.S. Olympic trials.
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Heavily favored to win the 100m, she was upset by Julien Alfred of St. Lucia. Teammate Melissa Jefferson earned bronze.
Why was Sha'Carri Richardson not allowed to compete in Tokyo?
When the shocking news of her suspension became public in 2021, Richardson acknowledged her mistake and vowed to return for the next Olympics.
Paris 2024 Summer Olympics and Paralympics
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"I know what I did, I know what I'm supposed to do, I know what I'm allowed not to do, and I still made that decision,” she said on TODAY in 2021. “I’m not making any excuses, and I’m not looking for any empathy in my case.”
She said at the time that learning from a reporter that her biological mom had passed away one week before the Olympic trials sent her into a state of emotional panic.
"It's definitely triggering," she said. She said that she was "blinded by emotions, blinded by bad news, blinded by just hurting."
When does Sha'carri Richardson compete next?
The Dallas native is also set to compete in the women's 4x100-meter relay, which begins Thursday, Aug. 8.
