Why a silver medal is as good as gold for Sha'Carri Richardson

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It wasn’t the result she wanted, but it was far better than three years ago. Sha’Carri Richardson won silver in the women’s 100 meters at the Paris Olympics on Saturday, bested by Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred. In the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Richardson, who’d been suspended after testing positive for the active ingredient in marijuana, didn’t run at all. She looked nervous as she walked to the start line before the medal race, and in both the semis and finals she did not get good starts. Richardson came into these Olympics as both the reigning world champion and the fastest in the world this year after a 10.71-second performance in the U.S. Olympic trials in June. But she looked uncharacteristically nervous as she walked to the start line before the medal race, and in both the semis and finals she did not get good starts. It cost her against Alfred, the powerful 23-year-old who won three NCAA titles in her final year at Texas in 2023. Alfred, who won the first-ever Olympic medal for her Caribbean island, got a fantastic start out of the blocks and never gave up her lead; her time was 10.72 seconds. Richardson was runner-up in 10.87 seconds, and fellow American Melissa Jefferson won bronze in 10.92 seconds. Also the winner of this year’s 60-meter world championship, Alfred broke the stranglehold Jamaica had on the women’s 100-meter gold medal; over the previous four Olympic Games, either Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce or Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica had won the 100-meter. Thompson-Herah was not at these Games due to an injury, while Fraser-Pryce scratched from her semifinal, though it was unclear why she did. Even without the gold, medaling in Paris was the triumphant culmination of three years of turmoil and growth for Richardson, the petite powerhouse who had once been written off by some as a flash in the pan but found serenity in her personal life and, with it, rediscovered her stride on the track. For all of the success Richardson had last year at worlds in Budapest — winning gold in the 100-meter in a championship-record time of 10.65 seconds, anchoring the U.S. women to gold in the 4x100-meter relay and claiming bronze in the 200 meters in a lifetime best of 21.92 seconds — the Olympics is where track-and-field legends are made. She’ll have to wait a bit longer for that ultimate crown. And so will the United States. It will be at least four more years until an American woman sprinter wins Olympic gold in the 100. Gail Devers was the last to do so, in 1996. That year was also the last time two American women were on the podium until Richardson and Jefferson earned silver and bronze Saturday. Still, Richardson has reason to celebrate. Over the last three years, she seems to have undergone a great deal of growth, personally, professionally and even spiritually. Richardson burst onto the global track scene in 2019, when she won the NCAA women’s 100-meter title as a freshman at Louisiana State University in 10.75 seconds, her long, platinum-blond wig contrasting with her all-black uniform. Her time was not only the NCAA record, but it made her the ninth-fastest woman ever and marked the under-20 world record. While her stellar prep career at Dallas’ Carter High made her a hot commodity on the college recruiting circuit, becoming just the third freshman to win the women’s title changed everything for Richardson on the track. She immediately signed a sponsorship deal with Nike and was anointed the future of American sprinting, all at just 19 years old. It would be a lot for anyone. Richardson has reason to celebrate. Over the last three years, she seems to have undergone a great deal of growth, personally, professionally and even spiritually. And it didn’t take long for reality to set in: Just a couple of weeks after her star turn at the NCAAs, Richardson made her professional debut at 2019’s Prefontaine Classic. She finished fourth. That July, she was last in the 100-meter final at the U.S. track and field championship. Like everyone’s, her 2020 season was cut short by Covid, and the International Olympic Committee made the decision to push the Tokyo Games by a year. After lowering her all-time best early in 2021, Richardson came into the Olympic trials in great form and seemed to fulfill her promise when she blazed — in a fiery orange wig, natch — to the win in 10.86 seconds. Just as quickly as glory came, it was gone. Richardson tested positive for cannabis after the race and received a one-month suspension from the World Anti-Doping Agency that kept her out of the Olympics. She revealed that she’d used marijuana during the trials after finding out via a reporter she didn’t know that her biological mother, whom she’d long been estranged from, had died. The punishment set off a global discussion about whether it was past time for WADA to take marijuana off its banned substances list, whether the suspension was an overreaction given the circumstances, or whether Richardson had no one to blame but herself for breaking an established rule. And in the middle of the storm was a young woman trying to process it all. In an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” show shortly after her suspension was announced, Richardson said, “I apologize for the fact that I didn’t even know how to control my emotions or deal with my emotions during that time.” Her struggles continued for much of 2022, when she didn’t even make the finals for the U.S. championships, which is where the team for worlds was decided. I found my peace back on the track and I’m not letting anything or anybody take that anymore. sha'carri richardson Sometime after that embarrassing result, Richardson seemingly decided it was time for a change. She’s been smiling ever since. She opened 2023 with a wind-aided 10.57 seconds at a meet in Florida, and a few weeks later at the Diamond League meet in Doha, Qatar, she beat a stacked field in 10.76 seconds. She showed up at the start line without colorful hair, without waist beads, without much of the flash she’d been known for. Her impeccable, ornate fingernails remained, but the pared-down look was the first sign that something was different. “I found my peace back on the track and I’m not letting anything or anybody take that anymore,” she told a reporter after the run, concluding with “peace, love and light.” Around that same time, she indicated in a video on her YouTube channel that returning to her faith had helped her a great deal, and she also debuted what would become her motto for the year: “I’m not back, I’m better.” In 2023, finally competing in a global meet, Richardson stunned with her winning time of 10.65 seconds, a world championships record. Though she threw her arms up in celebration as she crossed the finish line, when the scoreboard flashed that she’d officially won, Richardson looked to be in disbelief for a few moments, her hands over her mouth. But once it set in, she began running all over, jumping and skipping and squealing with delight. Her celebration on Saturday was far more muted, but Sha’Carri Richardson was still smiling. The road to redemption isn’t always paved with gold. Sometimes it’s paved with silver.