The serious mistake Sha’Carri Richardson made that prevented her from winning in the 100-meter final at the Olympic Games

If there is one factor above all that contributed to Richardson’s disappointing result, it was her start. Replays show it took the 24-year-old 0.221 seconds to get out of the blocks.

That was the slowest of all the eight runners, and nearly a full tenth behind Alfred, meaning that Richardson was forced to play catch-up the entire race.

While she eventually passed six of the runners, she was no match for Alfred, who won by 0.15 seconds, which was the biggest winning margin at the event since 2008.

It isn’t the first time Richardson has been hampered by a slow start, as she failed to qualify for the 200-meter race at the Olympic Trials due to the problem.

She was also slow out of the blocks during Saturday’s 100-meter semifinal, which was a preview of what was to come given  won that as well.

The disappointment was evident on  as she opted to skip interviews in the mixed zone after the final.

The silver medal wasn’t what she wanted, as gold would have capped off her redemption story which began back at the Tokyo Games. She was disqualified from the event due to a positive result for THC.

All signs pointed to the redemption story delivering a happy ending, as she won gold at the 2023 World Championship, though in the end, it just wasn’t to be in Paris.

start to the 2024 season has been a little sluggish, having back-to-back Diamond League defeats in underwhelming times. With this, it raises the question – is she set for another disastrous Olympic year?

The world’s fastest woman , in which 19-year-old Aussie sensation Torrie Lewis edged her at the finish line in 22.96s (-0.4) to 22.99s. A week later in Suzhou, Richardson failed to replicate a better performance, settling for the third position in one of her slowest career times ever in 23.11s.

Her brace of disappointing performances is now stirring several conversations among track enthusiasts, questioning her readiness for Paris and whether she has what it takes to have the top consistency and mental capacity like her Jamaican rivals.

Consequently, her form has been a far cry from her iconic 2023 season, where her first race saw her brilliantly run a blazing wind-aided 10.75s in the heat and a jaw-dropping 10.57s (4.1) in the final.

And in her first Diamond League race in Doha, she was victorious over her fierce rival Shericka Jackson in a blistering 10.76s. Richardson will later clock the most sub-11s time (12) for the rest of the year, highlighted by her 10.65s winning performance at the world championships in Budapest, thus earning the bragging rights of the world’s fastest woman.

Although there has been an interchange in her event started this year, by focusing more on her weaker 200m, the appalling times dropped is still a cause for concern.

It becomes apparent to question if she’s heading for another disastrous Olympic year like in Tokyo 2021 or being distracted by her fame and influence off-track.

Richardson’s off-track escapades have been the most engaging based on bagging lucrative endorsement deals and having the biggest influence of a track and field athlete.

She has done numerous Ads, partnerships, and collaborations with top brands such as Whoop, Android,  Sprite, etc, making her the face of the sport this year.

But are all these distractions to the bigger goals of having consecutive years of track success by making the US Olympic team and upsetting her Jamaican rivals again with the 100/200m titles in Paris to prove she’s indeed ‘Back and Better’ and the current queen of the sport?

Whatever the case is, Richardson and her strong managerial team will have it sorted in due time. Also, it’s too early to judge the outcome of her Olympic year based on her first two races of the season.

The most vital target for track and field athletes is to peak at the right time for a major championship. Hopefully, Richardson will trust the process with her coach, regain her confidence, and avoid a devastating latter stage of the season heading to Paris.