Sha’Carri Richardson rallies US in rain-soaked 4x100 relay to win her first Olympic gold medal

SAINT-DENIS, France — Sha’Carri Richardson has navigated plenty of roadblocks in her pursuit of Olympic glory. Some self-imposed. Some not.

Considering all the American sprinter has been through over the last three years, tentatively grabbing the baton from teammate Gabby Thomas with the U.S. in third in the women’s 4x100 meter relay final on Friday felt sort of normal.

Beating others in a race from here to there is what Richardson does for a living. And with one thrilling dash down the final stretch in Stade de France, the gold that had been just out of reach for so long finally became tangible.

Richardson chased down Germany’s Rebekka Haase and Britain’s Daryll Neita during an electrifying final leg to lock down the first Olympic gold of her career. And she did it with the style and swagger that’s become her signature, win or lose.

She caught Haase and Neita with 40 meters to go. With 20 meters left, Richardson turned to her right and glared at her competitors, each now a full step behind. At the finish line she leaned forward and high-stepped.

The 24-year-old from Dallas went so fast, it took a moment for the scoreboard to catch up.

The initial results on the massive videoboard indicated Britain had hit the line first. Richardson, Thomas, Twanisha Terry and Melissa Jefferson knew better. When the mistake was fixed — with a one next to the U.S.’s time of 41.78 — Richardson’s long journey to the top of the podium was finally over.

“It was a phenomenal feeling for all of us,” Richardson said.

Especially for the charismatic star who arrived in Paris with so much pressure.

When the Americans headed to ring the victory bell in a corner of the stadium, Richardson went last and tugged at it four times while letting out a scream of joy that was a long time coming.

A week after finishing a surprise runner-up to Julien Alfred of St. Lucia in the women’s 100 final, Richardson authored a golden finish to her Games a day after shaky exchange between Terry and Thomas in qualifying nearly cost the U.S. a chance at winning the program’s third gold in the last four Olympics.

“We just looked at what we did yesterday, had a talk amongst each other, then make the necessary corrections going in,” Terry said. “But we still had trust and confidence in one another. And that’s what we’ve brought out here today.”

Thomas ran the third leg and earned her second gold of the Games to go with the one she breezed to in the 200. Things were considerably harder during a brief rainstorm that began just before the start, briefly making things slick on the purple track, one of the reasons Thomas’ exchange with Richardson was more cautious than clinical.

Not that it mattered in the end.

“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.”

Yes, they were.