In fourth place upon taking the final handoff of the women’s 4x100m on Friday (9), Sha’Carri Richardson powered the United States to a gold medal at the Paris Olympics with a standout leg to secure an American victory in 41.78.

“She is so fast,” said 200m champion Gabby Thomas, the US third leg. “We know we’re in good hands as soon as she gets her hands on the baton.”

Running in rain that began falling just minutes before the race, Great Britain used the combination of Dina Asher-Smith, Imani Lansiquot, Amy Hunt and Daryll Neita that produced the world-leading time only three weeks earlier to take silver in 41.85, their best finish in this event at the Olympics since 1956.

Germany earned bronze in 41.97, the first medal by a unified German team since 1960. For the first time since 2008 Jamaica, the defending Olympic champions, did not finish on the podium, with their time of 42.29 finishing fifth.

It was the third gold medal claimed by the US women in the event in the past four Olympics, joining victories in London and Rio de Janeiro, though at first Great Britain was shown as the winner on the scoreboard above Stade de France. Richardson looked at the finish order in apparent confusion before the result was quickly corrected.

The US was third after Melissa Jefferson’s opening leg, second after Twanisha Terry’s, and fourth at the final handoff.

“It honestly feels amazing,” Jefferson said.

As soon as Richardson secured her handoff from Thomas, which led Richardson to glance behind her, she started her anchor leg in fourth place, trailing leader Great Britain, Germany and France by a stride. Though the handoff slowed her momentum, Richardson ran a final leg of 10.09 to close the gap. Great Britain’s final leg, Neita, ran a 10.33-second leg, while Germany’s anchor Rebekka Haase ran 10.46 to close.

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

Just as the US had to overcome a difficult final exchange, Great Britain was slowed by the pass between its second and third runners. It was the third consecutive Olympics in which Great Britain has won a medal.

“It's been not just one year in the making, it's been eight years in the making and it's been bronze, bronze and we finally upgraded to silver,” said Lansiquot, whose 10.13 second leg was Great Britain’s fastest. “I can’t express how proud I am of these women. We came together. We got the job done. And when the heavens opened up, we still kept our heads and did it.”

The fastest time from preliminaries belonged to the United States, which had 41.94 despite a tricky second handoff between 200m bronze medallist Brittany Brown and Thomas, the 200m gold medallist that led Thomas to slow down before running from behind on the curve. When Thomas passed the baton to anchor Richardson, the US trailed Germany, though not for long. Their time equalled the world’s third-fastest of this season. The fastest was Great Britain’s 41.55 in July, and two sprinters from that team, Hunt and Lansiquot, were back in prelims to help Great Britain win their heat in 42.03, the second-fastest time in qualifying.