The American Women’s 4×100 relay team appears to have put aside any differences to win gold for Team USA at the Paris Olympics.
The quartet of Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry, Gabby Thomas, and Sha’Carri Richardson posted a 41.78 time to edge a competitive field and win America’s first gold in the event since 2016. Richardson, the team’s anchor, received the baton in third but stormed past Great Britain and Germany to capture the title by just 0.07 seconds. What made the difference: trust between teammates.
Thomas and Richardson, who have exchanged words on and off over the past few years, were quick to heap praise upon each other: “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, and to leave my best on the track,” Richardson said.
Thomas also had nothing but positives for her teammate: “You know she’s gonna get the job done no matter where we are in the race. We did a great job every leg did a great job but there was nothing like watching her down the track and win the race for us.”
Unlike in the preliminary round, the Americans conducted three clean handoffs. In the prelims, Jefferson and Terry – a bronze medalist in the 100m herself – had a wobbly exchange that nearly cost Team USA a spot in the final.
Thomas’ run earned her a second gold at the Paris Olympics. The Harvard graduate ran an impressive 21.83 200m to beat a competitive field by a quarter of a second. Richardson finally earned her first Olympic gold medal after settling for a silver in the 100m finals.
Many of Richardson’s fans said they would boycott watching the Olympics entirely, something Thomas took offense to, saying: “There are so many black athletes who have put in YEARS of hard work for this moment – myself included. We want your support.”
In a since-deleted tweet, Richardson responded with a not-so-subtle jab at her American teammate: “Athletes that haven’t and will never beat me have much to say about or surrounding my situation. When most of them have said nothing to me showing their characters that y’all don’t see behind the races.”
Perhaps winning gold cures all – the beef between Richardson and Thomas seems to be squarely behind them. “Passing the baton to Sha’Carri is a very special and unique thing,” Thomas said. “She’s so fast and we know we’re in good hands as soon as she gets her hands on the baton.”
“The moment that I would describe is realizing that when we won as USA ladies, it was a phenomenal feeling for all of us,” Richardson said, clearly putting her team over herself.
There would be no gold medal for Team USA in the Men’s 4×100. A costly mishap between former 100m world champion Christian Coleman and Paris 200m silver medalist Kenny Bednarek on the first exchange disqualified the American quartet.
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