PARIS — Gabby Thomas draped a comforting arm around a crying Sha’Carri Richardson on the Paris Olympic victory stand Friday night as the U.S. celebrated its record 12th gold medal in the women’s 4 x 100-meter relay.
The medal ceremony was emotional for Richardson, who had hoped to strike gold in Tokyo three years ago before testing positive for THC, the primary compound found in cannabis, at the U.S. Olympic Trials.
Richardson’s first chance at becoming an Olympic champion in Paris ended in a disappointing silver medal in the 100 meters.
When she was introduced before the relay, Richardson nodded her head, all business. After grabbing the baton from Thomas in fourth place, she ran a stunning anchor leg in a light rain, stomping her foot and screaming as she crossed the finish line.
But for a second, Richardson appeared thwarted again. She looked with annoyance at the scoreboard as it proclaimed Great Britain the winner. The scoreboard promptly corrected itself, putting the U.S. on top, and Richardson made a gesture as if to say, “Bring it on.”
Richardson declined to explain what she was feeling at that time, but said, “The moment that I will describe is realizing that when we won as USA ladies, it was a phenomenal feeling for all of us.”
While Richardson finally had her first gold, Thomas, who was born in Atlanta, became the first sprinter at the Paris Games to win two. She dominated the 200 meters on Wednesday night, and could win a third gold medal Saturday if U.S. coaches put her on the 4 x 400 relay. Thomas has a history running the 400, and said, “I hope so,” when asked if she would make another appearance on the lavender track.
She could follow a path similar to that of another metro Atlanta sprinter. Gwen Torrence won the 200 in Barcelona in 1992 and also captured a gold medal in the 4 x 100 relay and a silver in the 4 x 400 relay.
“Gabby did an amazing job,” Torrence said after the 200. “I had (Julien) Alfred last year to take the double, but after her emotional win in the 100, it was going to be hard. Gabby had the hungry look on her face… and she ate that race up.”
In the relay, the U.S. posted the second-fastest time of the year of 41.78 seconds. Great Britain, which ran 41.55 earlier this year, was second in 41.85.
Germany placed third in 41.97, helped by the explosive start of first-leg Alexandra Burghardt, who won a silver medal at the Beijing 2022 Olympics in bobsled.
The U.S. gold was an upgrade from the silver won in Tokyo three years ago behind a powerful Jamaican squad. Thomas was the only member of that team to run Friday night in the Stade de France, but she joined Richardson, Terry and Tamari Davis in clinching the 2023 world championships title.
While Great Britain had six runners on the victory stand and Germany five — including athletes who competed only in the preliminary round — the U.S. only had four. The same quartet ran in the same order in the first round. They then talked about how to make the necessary corrections to optimize their exchanges.
“We just came in here with a goal of trusting each other and doing what we needed to do,” Terry said. “Just relying on each other, because we don’t practice together often.”
Melissa Jefferson, who won a bronze medal in the 100 meters, led off for the United States. Great Britain held the lead at the first exchange, thanks to veteran sprinter Dina Asher-Smith.
Jefferson passed the baton to Twanisha “TeeTee” Terry, then Thomas ran the curve. However, when she handed off to Richardson, the U.S. trailed Great Britain, Germany and France.
“Obviously, passing the baton to Sha’Carri is a very special and unique thing,” Thomas said. “She’s so fast, we know we’re in good hands as soon as she gets her hand on the baton. I felt very proud, and I was grateful. I was grateful to compete with these ladies and we got the gold.”
Richardson efficiently made up ground and even tossed a look to her right, at Great Britain, just to make sure she was ahead.
“I just remember trusting my third leg, trusting Gabby and knowing that she’s going to put that stick in my hand no matter what,” Richardson said, “and to leave my best on the track.”
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