The critical mistake that led to Sha'Carri Richardson's surprising Olympics defeat

Sha'Carri Richardson missed out on an Olympic gold medal after a sluggish start in the women's 100m final.

Richardson, who claimed gold at last year’s world championships, had to settle for silver on Saturday as Julien Alfred of St. Lucia delivered a stunning performance to take the gold.

It was a disappointing result for the 24-year-old in her Olympic debut, coming three years after she was barred from the Tokyo Games for testing positive for THC. Reflecting on her race, Richardson will likely focus on her slow reaction to the starting pistol, as it took her 0.221 seconds to get out of the blocks—the slowest reaction time of all eight competitors.

Throughout the race, Richardson was left trying to catch Alfred but ultimately had to rue her poor start. Richardson was the favorite for the event after her Tokyo suspension, which she explained was due to using THC to cope with 'emotional panic' following her biological mother’s death.

Hours before the 100-meter final at the 2024 Games, two-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica withdrew from the event before the semifinals.