"I just remember trusting Gabby Thomas"- Sha'Carri Richardson had unwavering belief in 200m champion during baton exchange in 4x100m relay finals

By Janhavi Shinde

Modified Aug 10, 2024 15:39 GMT

Sha'Carri Richardson recently expressed her confidence and belief in her teammates, who contributed to clinching the women's 4x100m relay gold medal for USA at the Paris Olympics 2024. The American team, including Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson, and Twanisha Terry put forth an electrifying performance to defeat Great Britain and Germany.

The USA squad posted a time of 41.78 seconds, followed by the British and German squads, who posted 41.85 and 41.97 seconds, respectively. Jefferson ran the first leg for the American squad, clocking 11.46 seconds. She was followed by Terry, who ran a breathtaking leg of 9.98 seconds, the fastest second leg in the final, before handing over the baton to Thomas.

She executed a flawless third leg and passed the baton to Richardson, who surged ahead with the fastest anchor leg, leading the team to the top position on the wet Friday evening at the Stade de France.

In an interview with NBC Sports following their glorious victory, Richardson talked about the unwavering faith she had in her team, especially the third leg - Gabby Thomas. The anchor leg said that she trusted Thomas with the baton exchange.

"I just remember trusting my third leg – trusting Gabby – and knowing that she's going to put that stick in my hand no matter what and to leave my best on the track," she said.

While the American women's 4x100m team clinched the gold with their dominance in the event, the men's team fell short of joining them in the first place after a rough baton exchange and disqualification.

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Sha'Carri Richardson and the USA 4x100m relay team previously triumphed at the 2023 World Championships

Sha'carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Twanisha Terry and Melissa Jefferson of Team United States pose for a photo after the Women's 4 x 100m Relay Final at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Getty Images)

Before their Paris Olympics triumph, the USA women's 4x100m team, including Sha'Carri Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson, and Twanisha Terry had achieved something similar at the 2023 World Athletics Championships, Budapest.

Although Jefferson did not compete in the final round of the event in Budapest, she helped the team to dominate the preliminary round, earning the qualification. In the final, the American sprinters clocked a notable time of 41.03 seconds to surpass the Jamaican and British squads.

Similar to Paris, where the team was the crowd's favorite, Terry ran an electrifying leg of 9.64 seconds before handing the baton to Thomas. Alike to their recent triumph, Sha'Carri Richardson ran the last leg and successfully dominated the lineup.