USA's Richardson reaches women's 100m final as Fraser-Pryce is scratched

Richardson, the current world champion in the 100m and a strong contender for the gold medal, recorded a time of 10.89 seconds to secure her spot in the final later that day at the Stade de France.

However, she found herself outpaced by Alfred, who is vying for Saint Lucia's first Olympic medal. Alfred, who has yet to achieve a podium finish in the 100m at any major outdoor championship, surged ahead to win the semi-final with a time of 10.84 seconds.

A significant development occurred prior to the semi-final when Jamaica's two-time Olympic 100m champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, withdrew from the event. The 37-year-old, a five-time world champion in the 100m, was aiming for a historic fifth consecutive Olympic medal, 16 years after her gold medal victory in Beijing.

Joining Richardson and Alfred in the final will be Melissa Jefferson from the United States, who secured first place in her semi-final with a time of 10.99 seconds, narrowly edging out Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith from the Ivory Coast, who finished second in 11.01 seconds.

Unfortunately, Britain's European champion, Dina Asher-Smith, did not qualify for the final, finishing in fifth place. "I am just disappointed because I am in excellent shape and have maintained that throughout the season; I fully anticipated making it to the final, and the race was not even particularly fast," Asher-Smith expressed to the BBC following her performance.

Daryll Neita, another competitor from Britain, will participate in the final after finishing second in the third semi-final, trailing Jamaica's Tia Clayton. Clayton led the race from start to finish, clocking in at 10.89 seconds, with Neita following closely behind at 10.97 seconds.

Twanisha Terry from the United States and Mujinga Kambundji from Switzerland also advanced to the final as the next two fastest finishers.