Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred stunned US favourite Sha’Carri Richardson to win the Olympic women’s 100m gold medal on Saturday, etching her name into history to claim the Caribbean nation’s first ever medal at the Games.
Alfred — who had never finished on the podium at a major outdoor championships prior to Saturday’s final — conjured a superb race to win in 10.72sec as Richardson took silver in 10.87sec and compatriot Melissa Jefferson won bronze in 10.92sec.
Richardson, the reigning world champion over 100m, had been hotly tipped to become the first American to win the coveted Olympic crown since Gail Devers in 1996.
But the 24-year-old Texan found herself outgunned by the powerfully built Alfred, who led from start to finish after exploding out of the blocks at a rainswept Stade de France.
Alfred’s gold gave St. Lucia their first ever medal of any colour at an Olympics. The island nation only began competing at the Games in 1996.
It was an incredible performance by Alfred, who had fired a warning shot across Richardson’s bows in the semi-finals, finishing ahead of the American in 10.89sec.
The semi-final proved to be an ominous portent for Richardson, who was slow out of the blocks and never looked like reeling in Alfred, who could even afford to ease up as she crossed the line to clinch gold.
Alfred was in tears of celebration after sealing a sensational win, running to ring the trackside victory bell before wrapping herself in her country’s flag and embracing her American rivals amid a deafening roar from the appreciative Parisian crowd.
Richardson meanwhile was left wondering what had gone with an Olympics campaign that had promised to deliver a gold.
The American, who upset the odds to win gold at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, had been hoping to complete her journey to the pinnacle of her sport with Olympic gold in Paris.
Richardson had framed her campaign as a bid for redemption, coming three years after she was barred from competing at the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana as she grieved the death of her biological mother.
And in the build-up to the games, the stars appeared to be aligning in favour of the flamboyant world champion, with Jamaica’s defending Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah ruled out through injury, and another Jamaican medal hope, Shericka Jackson, opting to drop out of the 100m to concentrate on the 200m.
Richardson received another boost earlier Saturday in the semi-finals, when two-time Jamaican Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce withdrew from the semi-finals after suffering a reported injury during a warm-up.
But any hope that fate was smiling on Richardson was snuffed out by the imperious Alfred, who was always in control as she hammered down the rain-slicked track to claim St. Lucia’s maiden Olympic medal.
