Sha'Carri Richardson wins 100m silver in Olympic debut at Paris 2024
It wasn't Sha'Carri Richardson's night.
Fans could see it written on her face as she walked into the Stade de France as the stadium erupted at the sight of her, but the persistent rain that was falling felt ominous for the American athletics star.
The Olympics pit the best of the best against one another on the globe's biggest of stages, and Saturday night (3 August) at the Olympic Games Paris 2024, Richardson was bested by a quiet force from Saint Lucia, Julien Alfred.
Richardson, 24, came out of the blocks slow in the damp conditions and never recovered, with Alfred leading early and refusing to relent. The gap was too much for Sha'Carri, who has been known to chase down opponents, including last year at the World Championships when she soared to gold from lane 9.
Her golden dreams have a silver lining: The Olympic silver medal itself.
Richardson achieves that in her Olympic debut with training mate Melissa Jefferson joining her on the podium, claiming the bronze medal.
Twanisha Terry, the third of their Orlando-based trio under coach Dennis Mitchell, was fifth.
All three American women were looking to become the first to claim an Olympic title in this event since Gail Devers at Atlanta 1996. It was also in Atlanta that two Americans were last on a 100m podium at the Olympics, with Gwen Torrence joining Devers there.