Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred sprinted to the gold in the Olympic 100-meter race on Saturday, with Sha’Carri Richardson taking silver and her fellow American Melissa Jefferson nabbing bronze.
Alfred crossed the finish line in 10.72 seconds to win Saint Lucia’s first-ever Olympic medal. Richardson came in behind her at 10.87 seconds and Jefferson at 10.92 seconds.
It is both Richardson’s and Jefferson’s first-ever Olympic medal as well.
Although the U.S. had high hopes for a gold from Richardson, who was the reigning 100-meter world champion coming into the race, her second-place win Saturday was nevertheless a triumphant Olympic comeback. Three years ago, the 24-year-old was suspended from the sport for a month after testing positive for THC, which prevented her from participating in the Tokyo Olympics (THC is not a performance-enhancing drug, but it is a prohibited substance in the Games).
Richardson won her opening-round heat on Friday. She came in second in the 100-meter semifinal earlier on Saturday, also behind Alfred.