The semi-final proved to be an ominous portent for Richardson, who was slow out of the blocks and never looked like reeling in Alfred, who could even afford to ease up as she crossed the line to clinch gold.
Alfred was in tears of celebration after sealing a sensational win, running to ring the trackside victory bell before wrapping herself in her country’s flag and embracing her American rivals amid a deafening roar from the appreciative Parisian crowd.
Richardson meanwhile was left wondering what had gone with an Olympics campaign that had promised to deliver a gold.
The American, who upset the odds to win gold at last year’s World Championships in Budapest, had been hoping to complete her journey to the pinnacle of her sport with Olympic gold in Paris.
Richardson had framed her campaign as a bid for redemption, coming three years after she was barred from competing at the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana as she grieved the death of her biological mother.
And in the build-up to the games, the stars appeared to be aligning in favour of the flamboyant world champion, with Jamaica’s defending Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah ruled out through injury, and another Jamaican medal hope, Shericka Jackson, opting to drop out of the 100m to concentrate on the 200m.
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