Sha’Carri Richardson Takes Silver in 100-Meter Dash, Her First Olympic Medal

Richardson gets second in her first Olympics, after she was disqualified from the 2020 Tokyo Games

Sha’Carri Richardson. Photo: Harry Langer/DeFodi Images via Getty Images

Sha’Carri Richardson ran to redemption on Saturday night.

The 24-year-old sprinter won silver in the women’s 100-meter final at the Paris Olympics on Aug. 3, three years after she was controversially barred from competing in the Tokyo Games.

Richardson ran the sprint event in 10.87, finishing 0.15 behind first-place finisher Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia.

She looked disappointed in her finish, but celebrated with training partner and third place finisher, USA’s Melissa Jefferson.

Richardson was the heavy favorite to win the 100-meter, particularly after easily winning her heat and finishing second in her semifinal earlier Saturday.

Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred (R) beats out Sha’Carri Richardson (L) for gold in the 100-meter final.ODD ANDERSEN/AFP via Getty Images

This is Richardson’s first Olympic Games after she was disqualified from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after she was suspended from the U.S. team after testing positive for THC. In the three years since, she has been dominant on the world stage, winning several Diamond League meets, the 2023 U.S. National Outdoor Championship and the 2023 World Athletics Championship in both the 100- and 200-meter events.

It was at the World Athletics Championship that Richardson broke the 100-meter world record, and first declared her new motto: “I’m not back, I’m better.”

“That slogan comes from knowing that I’ve been in the world. I’ve been in the world in a way that not necessarily is the way a lot of people could handle or really bounce back or survive,” she told PEOPLE in Dec. 2023.

“And the fact that I’m able to stand here and be the athlete I’ve been, I’ve been the woman I’ve been,” Richardson says, “I’m wiser. I’m calmer, I’m disciplined and I’m more focused on the responsibility that I have as well as my passion for what I do.”

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