The U.S. women’s 4×100-meter relay survived another shaky handoff to win the gold medal at the Paris Olympics, powered by a devastating anchor leg by Sha’Carri Richardson.
A delayed handoff between Twanisha Terry and Gabby Thomas threatened to squash the Americans’ championship hopes ― but Richardson made up the deficit, and then some.
The U.S. clocked 41.78 seconds, followed by Great Britain (41.85) and Germany (41.97).
The U.S. had three medalists from Paris in its quartet on Friday ― Melissa Jefferson (100-meter bronze), Thomas (200-meter gold) and Richardson (100-meter silver).
But an American relay team winning gold is never a given, despite the country’s talent pool.
The women were disqualified in 2004 and 2008 before winning in 2012 and 2016, then taking silver to Jamaica in 2021.
Powered by Richardson, who was seeking her first Olympic gold medal, they regained the top hardware.
The U.S. survived a sketchy pass exchange with Thomas to lead qualifying. A swift anchor leg by Richardson assured the Americans’ passage to the final.
The handoffs with medals on the line weren’t flawless, but Richardson came through again.