PARIS — A noise rippled through Stade de France on Saturday evening when, before a semifinal of the women’s 100 meters at the Paris Olympics, the lane belonging to Jamaican sprinting star Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was unexpectedly left empty. Fraser-Pryce, long the standard-bearer for the event after winning Olympic gold in 2008 and 2012, bronze in 2016 and silver in 2021, did not start the race, a dropout that was not revealed publicly until her competitors stepped up to their starting blocks. It marked the second stunning withdrawal of a Jamaican star of these Olympics, after Shericka Jackson also withdrew from the 100 days earlier. Jackson will run the 200-meters. Richardson safely advanced to Saturday night’s final, though was beaten in her semifinal by Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia.

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Persons: Shelly, Ann Fraser, Pryce, Shericka Jackson, Jackson, Fraser, Dina Asher, Smith, Sha’Carri Richardson, Richardson, Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia Organizations: PARIS, Stade de France, Paris Olympics, Great