Richardson rallies U.S. 4×100 relay team to gold

SAINT-DENIS, France — For Sha’Carri Richardson, this was a beautiful relay through the rain.

Richardson captured her first Olympic gold medal with a come-from-behind anchor leg for the United States in the Olympic women’s 4×100 on Friday.

The Americans’ relay was filled with smooth, safe passes of a rain-slickened baton, then capped off by America’s fastest 100-meter runner.

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

The silver medalist from the 100 received the baton from Gabby Thomas in third place. By the halfway point of her leg, Richardson had overcome runners from Britain and Germany. She glanced to her right — and backward — and gave a look of “you’re not catching me,” then took eight more steps. On the ninth one, Richardson slammed her left foot on the ground over the finish line and let out a yell.

The Americans won in 41.78 seconds, good for a .07-second win over Britain, which struggled with two baton changes in the rain.

“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.”

Thomas ran the third leg and got her second gold of the Games, this one going with the 200-meter title. Twanisha Terry and 100 bronze medalist Melissa Jefferson rounded out the team. The exchange between Terry and Thomas that nearly wrecked the Americans in qualifying was better this time.

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 a shaky exchange between Terry and Thomas in qualifying nearly cost the U.S. a chance at winning the program’s third gold in the past 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.”

“The moment that I would describe is realizing that when we won as USA ladies, it was a phenomenal feeling for all of us,” Richardson added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.