Olympics Viewers Name 5 Reasons Sha’Carri Richardson Lost Gold in the Semifinal: ‘She Never Had a Chance’

On August 3, millions tuned in to the Paris Olympics to watch Sha’Carri Richardson compete in the women’s 100m semifinal. She gave it her all but couldn’t beat Saint Lucian runner Julien Alfred, who won the race. Social media users believe there are five reasons for her loss.

Some people believe Richardson missed out on the gold medal because of her nerves. Many claimed they could tell the 24-year-old was anxious by her appearance during the race.

“She seemed VERY nervous which is understandable but STILL got a SILVER!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾,” penned an Instagrammer. Another expressed, “She [needs] to get out of her head I can tell how nervous she was 🤦🏾‍♂️.”

The second reason many believe Richardson lost is her race start. Stills from the event’s video footage show Richardson with her head bowed to the floor and both feet firmly planted on the catapult blocks.

At one point, she had one knee on the ground while the other was closer to her chest. In addition to her stance, viewers believe Richardson started way too slow.

“If only she wasn’t so slow in the start,” commented an online observer. Another echoed, “Got to have a quicker start because it was too much separation to make up!” Someone else simply wrote, “[Her] start was well…. Bad.”

On the other hand, some believe Richardson lost first place because she was too boastful and starstruck by her own celebrity status. Their opinions were fueled by the Vogue commercial she did before the race.

The commercial shows Richardson posing on a race track in eye-catching outfits and flexing her muscles. It also features a brief video of her running in a yellow dress.

The magazine captioned the video, “Go Sha’Carri, go! Yesterday, with a speedy, low-key appearance at the Stade de France, @itsShaCarri officially made her #Olympics debut. The American sprinter easily qualified for the women’s 100-meter semifinals with a 10.94-second finish time [and] will have her first chance to medal today.”

Upon seeing this post and watching the 100m race, a social media user asserted, “Overconfidence says hi.” “That’s what happens when you’re too full of yourselves. Absolutely deserves it,” remarked another.

Someone else who felt strongly about the matter noted, “Maybe she was too busy making commercials and instead of training [,] she looks to be a flash in the pan.”

Echoing the sentiment, an Instagrammer highlighted, “All this noise just to win a silver medal.” “Lady you need to work more than you speak to manage [getting] an [Olympic] gold medal,” another chimed in.

The fourth factor that viewers believe affected Richardson’s performance was the weather that day (August 3).

Photos and a short video shared online show that it was raining during the event where Alfred made history for her country.

“[Rain didn’t] help but silver medalist and world champion still 🔥🔥🔥,” commended an admirer on Instagram. Agreeing with the aforementioned comment, another added, “I’m blaming the rain tbh.”

Last but not least, many believe Richardson lost because she couldn’t warm up properly before the event. Updates from a Jamaican outlet revealed that Richardson and Jamaican runner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce couldn’t access the warm-up track.

“Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce, who is challenging for the 5th 100m medal along with American World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson were earlier today temporarily delayed entry to the warm-up track as they arrived to start warming up for this afternoon’s semi finals,” shared Television Jamaica on X.

The same outlet posted video footage showing the athletes waiting outside the gate to the warm-up track. Richardson, in a blue tracksuit, was seen sitting on a street curb next to the metal gates, patiently waiting to practice.

Fraser-Pryce was also seen waiting in the same area in her yellow and black tracksuit. At some point, the Jamaican track star approached the crew filming the video to discuss what was happening.

From what she said, it appears the Olympics overseers had changed a rule about which entrance competing athletes are allowed to use.

According to Fraser-Pryce, they changed the rule to prevent athletes from entering through a specific entrance, even though they had used it without problems the day before.

This change was made the day before the 100m event, and the athletes were not informed until they showed up to practice on the day of the race.

Television Jamaica reported that eventually, Richardson and Fraser-Pryce gained access. People who heard about this debacle took to social media comment sections to express their opinions about Richardson.

“I hate that she wasn’t able to warm up properly because of the Olympic rule they made the day prior. But the fact that she was still able to get silver is amazing,” mentioned a fan. Another exclaimed, “WITH NO WARMUP!”

“That warm-up really derailed her mindset,” said someone else. Other spectators expressed how they felt about Richardson walking away with a silver medal after losing the gold to Alfred. In this regard, an Instagrammer declared, “She never had a chance 😂😂😂😂😂,” while another vocalized, “If you ain’t first, you’re last 😔.”

“2nd place is good now?” pondered a netizen. However, a fan defended Richardson’s silver win, praising, “Congrats Sha!! You had a lot of obstacles and still moved from the back to the front and I’m super proud of you!! Your life and talent [are] gold! It’s ok to add a piece of silver to it for now! 🥈.”

Regardless of what some may believe and express, Sha’Carri Richardson knows her worth—win or lose. Speaking on her Olympics debut after she was not selected to participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games, Richardson boasted, “I’m not back, I’m better.