On August 3, millions of viewers tuned in to the Paris Olympics to watch iconic athlete Sha’Carri Richardson compete in round 2 of the women’s 100m semifinal. Doing her best to come out on top, Richardson put the pedal to the metal but was unable to beat Saint Lucian runner Julien Alfred, who won the race. Social media users are convinced that this was due to five factors.

A cohort of the public believes that Richardson missed out on the gold medal because of her nerves. Many claimed that they could tell the 24-year-old was anxious by her appearance during the race.

“She seemed VERY nervous which is understandable but STILL got a SILVER!! 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾,” penned an Instagrammer. Another expressed, “She [needs] to get out of her head I can tell how nervous she was 🤦🏾‍♂️.”

The second reason many believe to be the cause of Richardson’s loss concerns how the young athlete started the race. Stills taken from the event’s video footage show Richardson with her head bowed to the floor and both her feet firmly planted on the catapult blocks.

At some point, she also had one knee placed on the ground while the other was kept closer to her chest. In addition to her stance, people who watched the race, believe that Richardson started way too slow.

“If only she wasn’t so slow in the start,” commented an online observer. Similarly, another echoed, “Got to have a quicker start because it was too much separation to make up!” Someone else simply wrote, “[Her] start was well…. Bad.”

On the other hand, some people asserted that the reason Richardson lost first place in the women’s 100m had to do with her being too boastful and starstruck by her own celebrity status. What added to their opinions was the Vogue commercial the superstar athlete did before she participated in the race.

Vogue’s commercial depicts Richardson posing on a race track in eye-catching outfits and flexing her muscles. They also show a brief video of her running in a yellow dress.

“Go Sha’Carri, go! Yesterday, with a speedy, low-key appearance at the Stade de France, @itsShaCarri officially made her #Olympics debut. The American sprinter easily qualified for the women’s 100-meter semifinals with a 10.94-second finish time [and] will have her first chance to medal today,” the magazine stated in their caption.

Upon seeing this post and watching the 100m race, a social media user asserted, “Overconfidence says hi.” “That’s what happens when you’re too full of yourselves. Absolutely deserves it,” remarked another.

Someone else who felt strongly about the matter noted, “Maybe she was too busy making commercials and instead of training [,] she looks to be a flash in the pan.”

Echoing the sentiment, an Instagrammer highlighted, “All this noise just to win a silver medal.” “Lady you need to work more than you speak to manage [getting] an [Olympic] gold medal,” another chimed in.

The fourth factor that viewers believe influenced Richardson’s performance has to do with the weather conditions on that day (August 3).

Media shared online, which includes photos and a short video showing the event in which Alfred made history for her country, depicts that it was raining.

“[Rain didn’t] help but silver medalist and world champion still 🔥🔥🔥,” commended an admirer on Instagram. Agreeing with the aforementioned comment, another added, “I’m blaming the rain tbh.”

Last but certainly not least, many believe that Richardson lost on account of the fact that she was unable to warm up properly before the event. Updates shared from a Jamaican-based outlet revealed that Richardson and Jamaican runner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce could not gain access to the warm-up track.

“Shelly-Anne Fraser-Pryce, who is challenging for the 5th 100m medal along with American World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson were earlier today temporarily delayed entry to the warm-up track as they arrived to start warming up for this afternoon’s semi finals,” shared Television Jamaica on X.

The same outlet posted video footage showing the young ladies waiting outside the gate to the warm-up track. Richardson, who sported a blue tracksuit, was seen sitting on a street curb next to the metal gates, patiently waiting to practice.

Fraser-Pryce was also seen waiting in the same area in her yellow and black tracksuit. At some point, the Jamaican track star comes up to the crew filming the video to discuss what was happening.

From what she said, it appears as though the Olympics overseers had changed a rule about which entrance competing athletes are allowed to come through.

According to Fraser-Pryce, they had changed the rule to make it so that athletes are not allowed to enter through a specific entrance even though she said they had just used that same entrance the day before with no problems.

This change was ruled the day before the 100m event and the athletes had not been informed about the change until the day of the race when they had shown up to practice first.

Television Jamaica reported that eventually, Richardson and Fraser-Pryce had gained access inside. People who heard about this debacle took to social media comment sections to express their opinions where Richardson was concerned.

“I hate that she wasn’t able to warm up properly because of the Olympic rule they made the day prior. But the fact that she was still able to get silver is amazing,” mentioned a fan. Another exclaimed, “WITH NO WARMUP!”

“That warm-up really derailed her mindset,” said someone else. An Instagrammer declared, “She never had a chance 😂😂😂😂😂,” while another vocalized, “If you ain’t first, you’re last 😔.”

“2nd place is good now?” pondered a netizen. However, a fan defended Richardson’s silver win, praising, “Congrats Sha!! You had a lot of obstacles and still moved from the back to the front and I’m super proud of you!! Your life and talent [are] gold! It’s ok to add a piece of silver to it for now! 🥈.”

Regardless of what some may believe and express, Sha’Carri Richardson knows her worth—win or lose. Speaking on her Olympics debut after she was not selected to participate in the Tokyo Olympic Games, Richardson boasted, “I’m not back, I’m better.”