No contestant stood a chance against Jamaica’s trio of sprinters in the women’s 100-meters on Saturday.
Elaine Thompson-Herah won her second consecutive Olympic gold medal with an Olympic record, finishing in 10.61 seconds, edging Florence Griffith-Joyner’s previous mark by a hundredth of a second. Thompson-Herah’s countrymates, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.74) and Shericka Jackson (10.76), captured silver and bronze.
Noticeably absent from the competition was Sha’Carri Richardson, the 21-year-old American phenom who clinched the U.S. record with a 10.86 at the U.S. Olympic trials in June. Richardson, though, tested positive for marijuana after the race, voiding the record and barring her from competing in Tokyo.
During the qualifying heats on Friday, several of the front-runners refused to discuss Richardson and her suspension, instead offering “no comments.”
Without Richardson, Teahna Daniels was the lone American in the race. She finished seventh in 11:02.