Team USA rivals Sha’Carri Richardson and Gabby Thomas have enjoyed success at the Paris Olympics three years after the duo clashed ahead of the Tokyo Games.
On Tuesday, Thomas – the favorite heading into the event – sprinted to Olympic 200m gold ahead of 100m champion Julien Alfred and fellow Team USA star Brittany Brown, who edged Team GB’s Dina Asher-Smith to bronze. Thomas clocked a time of 21.81 seconds to clinch the win.
Richardson, who clinched silver in the women’s 100m final at the Paris Olympics, failed to qualify for the 200m at the U.S. Olympic Trials in June. It was another layer in the rivalry between Richardson and Thomas after the pair clashed ahead of the Tokyo Olympics.
Back in 2021, Richardson was disqualified from the Tokyo Olympics after testing positive for marijuana. The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency gave her a 30-day suspension, and the month-long deferral immediately disqualified her from the 100-meter Olympics in Japan.
Richardson contested the decision and revealed she had been using the substance to cope with her mother’s recent death. As a result, fans were outraged and insisted they would boycott the Olympics as a show of support for the American. The boycott threat did not go down well with Thomas. She took to social media to call out those who vowed not to watch because of Richardson’s suspension.
Thomas also defended the Olympics, adding: “Additionally, I worry some of the anger and disdain may be misplaced. The ‘Olympics’ and those at the IOC have nothing to do with current events taking place.”
Richardson hit back with a since-deleted tweet, which read: “Athletes that haven’t and will never beat me have a lot to say about or surrounding my situation. When most of them have said nothing to me showing their characters that y’all don’t see behind the races.”
She added: “The attention that is on track now and was because of very very few names. So if that’s where fans support lay, you can’t be mad at that.”
Ultimately, both women have moved on and secured sprint medals in Paris, with Thomas clinching gold after Richardson’s silver behind Alfred. Thomas, Richardson, and Team USA will be eyeing further track success in the 4x100m relay on August 9 – if they qualify for the final as expected.
“It really hurts to see so many black people choosing not to watch the Olympics this year,” Thomas posted. “There are so many black athletes who have put in YEARS of hard work for this moment- myself included. We want your support.”
