The women’s 100m sprint finals were a magnificent sight to witness, with Team USA putting up their best show. Sha’Carri Richardson bagged the silver medal, while, teammate Melissa Jefferson touched down for the bronze, and Twanisha Terry came through in fifth place.
Fans celebrated their 2-3-5 position regardless of the loss of gold, and it brought out all the emotions. This was the first time in thirty years that the US won double podium position at the women’s 100m.
And as historic as that was, it’s also noteworthy that it came from three athletes who had their debut Olympics this year.
Jefferson has been over the moon ever since, watching how her first-ever Olympics ended with a medal. She had her fellow teammates to credit for all the support and love they showed up with, helping their group finish with the best possible outcomes.
Recently she talked about what it meant to be in a team with Richardson and Terry. Pictures from their Olympic trials, where they hugged and cried together, took the internet by storm. And it seems like the three athletes had equally bonded off-track as well.
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“Those are my girls, my sisters, and at the end of the day, I told them that no matter what happens, I always have their back and I know they have mine.”
The fact that all three of them entered their first Olympics and finished in stellar positions was enough to prove their prowess. Although they would still need to put in more work for future endeavors, for now, Jefferson believed that they had done a commendable job.
“We all just wanted to come out here and put on our best show and I feel like for the most part we did that.”
Meanwhile, Julien Alfred of St. Lucia won her country’s first-ever Olympic medal – a gold at that! The dramatic 100m sprint had all contenders start at a similar pace, before Alfred bolted past them all to take a dominant lead on the track. Richardson, had a rough start that affected her sprint.
Regardless of the setbacks, the Olympics has seemingly presented some inspiring stories from various athletes. The US Women’s Track and Field team is not done with their milestones yet, as the sprinting competitions proceed to longer distances.
With more challenges and a bigger fire to fuel them up, it will be interesting to see if contenders like Richardson bag their first gold.
