Sha’Carri Richardson’s comeback story hit a brick wall on Saturday as Julien Alfred prayed through the rain to top the 100 meters in 10.72 seconds to bring his home country of Saint Lucia its first Olympic medal.
Running one-way to Richardson’s left, and with water from a torrential downpour rushing down the purple at the Stade de France, Alfred made an impressive start, then pushed through the rain and beat Richardson by .15 seconds – about three body lengths.
It was the largest place in the women’s 100 Olympics since 2008.
Richardson’s training partner, American Melissa Jefferson, finished third in 10.92 seconds.
WATCH | Alfred wins women’s 100m gold:
Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medal comes courtesy of Julien Alfred, who shocked the field to win the women’s 100m, with a new national record of 10.72 seconds.
All week, the field seemed wide open for Richardson, the reigning world champion who was making his Olympic debut after a positive test for marijuana cost him his chance to run in three years. past Tokyo.
When Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce suddenly withdrew from the final, which came out about 90 minutes before the gold medal race, the entire Jamaican team that had won the podium in Tokyo dropped out. 100.
One island’s loss is another’s gain.
The strongest opponent left was Alfred, from an Eastern Caribbean island with a population of about 180,000. He was the only Olympian other than Richardson to break 10.8 this year – and when he and Richardson lined up next to each other in the semifinals, it was a preview of things to come.
One of the most anticipated races of the Olympic Games has never been competitive.
Alfred had two carries across the field for 40 yards, while Richardson, whose start has been a problem at times this summer, worked hard to reach full speed.
The American, his hands pumping in Lane 7, looked to be making progress as Alfred reached the finish line. But there was a very big gap between them and the real competition was between Richardson and Jefferson for both.
The lone American gold medal of the day came from Ryan Crouser, who earned a three-peat in the shot put. Another American silver went to the 4×400 medley relay, which was also captured by Femke Bol of the Netherlands on the anchor lap.
Jasmine Moore won bronze in the triple jump, won by Thea Lafond, setting herself up for a double when she competes in the long jump later this week.
Earlier in the day, Noah Lyles took second (10.04) in the first round of qualifying to reach the semifinals in the men’s 100. The semifinals and finals are set for Sunday.
Leduc just missed out on a place in the women’s 100m final
Audrey Leduc of Gatineau, Que., just missed making it to Saturday night’s final.
The 25-year-old ran 11.10 to finish fifth in Heat 3 one day after setting a personal best and breaking his own Canadian record with a time of 10.95 seconds.
“I’m happy,” he said. “Honestly, I would have wanted to go to the final. But it’s okay, I have 200 meters tomorrow so my goal is to go there and fulfill what I didn’t do today.”
The first round of the women’s 200 is on Sunday morning at the Stade de France.
Leduc found the Olympic semifinal situation different from what he was used to.
“I wouldn’t say it’s scary, but it’s definitely different from what I’m used to at home,” he said. “It’s not the same level.”
The Laval University product enters the Olympics enjoying a year that saw him break multiple Canadian records.
She broke 36-year-old Angela Bailey’s national mark in the 100 with a time of 10.96 back in April. He then broke the 200 record with a time of 22.36 seconds in June.
Leduc had not run faster than 11.38 seconds in the 100 and 23.62 in the 200 last year.
He said he would not have thought he would be 12th in the Olympics if he was asked three months ago.
“I will be surprised,” said Leduc. “I would say, ‘Hmm, I’m not sure.’ Who knows but for now I’m very happy with the result.”
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