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Sha’Carri Richardson Denied Access to Warm-Up Track at Olympics

Posted on by angelo
Sha’Carri Richardson Denied Access to Warm-Up Track at Olympics

Sha'Carri Richardson Warm-up Olympics Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
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Sha’Carri Richardson And Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce were denied access to the warm-up area through the main gate on Saturday before the 100m semi-finals and final Olympic GamesIt was ridiculous.

The good news is that the confusion didn’t take long to be resolved.

The athletics competition began on Friday in Paris. Richardson and Fraser-Pryce passed the qualifications without any problems and secured their place in the next round without any stress.

Team USA’s superstar sprinter is expected to win a gold medal in the 100m after failing to make the team in the 200m. The 37-year-old Jamaican legend posted the second-fastest time behind the American in the heats and will be hot on her heels.

Regardless of how things would play out on Saturday night, Fraser-Pryce and Richardson both found themselves in a sticky situation together earlier in the afternoon.

Neither athlete has chosen to stay in their respective delegation’s Olympic Village. They are staying off-site, probably in a hotel. Apparently, this is a problem, for one reason or another…

Richardson and Fraser-Pryce arrived at the athletics stadium at the same time on Saturday. The entrance gate they entered through was the same one they had used on Friday.

However, the Olympic organizers have changed the protocol between the qualifiers and the semi-finals. Any athlete who not Participants staying in the village must access the warm-up track through a separate entrance. The rule change was made sometime during the night, apparently without much warning.

Neither sprinter was informed of the new directive and was denied entry upon arrival.

Richardson tried to stay upright while being exasperated by all the shenanigans.

Both athletes eventually had to go around the corner to another gate, located much further away, instead of going through the exact same gate they had gone through about 24 hours earlier.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was taken aback by the change to the order.

Just like Sha’Carri Richardson, who finally made it onto the warm-up track after much unnecessary confusion.

This saga could have been much worse. Both women’s 100m medal contenders eventually got where they needed to be, but it took time and left them feeling unsettled.

Part of the blame here lies with the Olympics. There was no reason to change the rules.

Part of the blame also falls on Team Jamaica and Team USA. Assuming they knew about the gate change, they should have prepared their athletes better. And if they didn’t know about the gate change, they should have!