Fans have been waiting three years for Sha’Carri Richardson to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics and win gold.
On Saturday (August 3), she finished second to Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred in the Women’s 100-meter race. Richardson finished in second place with a timing of 10.87,.15 seconds behind Alfred, who finished in 10.72 seconds.
The 24-year-old will compete in the 4×100 relay on August 8 and 9, with another chance to win gold. She did not talk to the press after the final.
Hours before Saturday’s 100-meter competition, a video leaked on social media showing Richardson and Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce being denied admission to the track and field complex for warmup.
The two track stars were instructed to use a secondary entrance, which reportedly took an hour to reach. Although the females had merely entered the same gate 24 hours previously, an overnight restriction was implemented that prohibited them from entering with their own personal drivers.
Some have speculated that Richardson’s being held up at the gate and forced to enter elsewhere may have required her to exert more energy ahead of the 100-meter.
Fraser-Pryce can be heard saying on the video, “They’ve changed the rules. We used to pass via this gate, but now they say athletes who have left are not permitted to do so.”
In the video, Richardson is also seen attempting to get access to the entrance.
In a statement, the Paris Olympics press office stated that some athletes who sought to access the warm-up track “through the wrong gate” were able to enter the stadium through a different gate.
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