PARIS, France — After enduring a season riddled with injuries and setbacks, newly crowned Olympic Games bronze medallist Rasheed Broadbell believes that his strong faith in God was the guiding force behind his success in the event after his resilient run inside the Stade de France on Thursday.

The road to the Olympic podium was anything but smooth for Broadbell, who faced numerous challenges throughout the season. Stubborn injuries threatened to derail his dreams, and setbacks in training left him questioning whether he would even make it to the Games. But, through it all, he remained steadfast in his belief that God had a plan for him.

“My mentality is that there was a lot of praying. I trust God, I trust my coach, I trust my therapist, and I trust everyone around me that guided me here,” Broadbell said. “I saw my dad just before I came here, and he brought me food and drink. I just came out here and fought. I fought 10 barriers, and I fought to the line. I wanted to be on the top podium, but just being on the podium is a great feeling.”

Broadbell clocked a seasons-best time of 13.09 seconds to secure the first Olympic medal of his career. The event was won by American Grant Holloway in 12.99 seconds. Holloway’s teammate Daniel Roberts, who was credited with the same time as Broadbell, picked up the silver medal.

It was also a day of redemption for the 23-year-old Broadbell, who, given his talent, has promised much in the past without delivering on the biggest of stages. In 2022, he made it to the semi-finals of the competition at the World Championships in Eugene, Oregon, and a year later, he fell in the heats of the event, also at the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary, after entering the championship as the world leader in the event.

Still, he did not allow those setbacks to add strain to his confidence with the 2022 Commonwealth Games champion stressing that his main aim coming into the Olympics was to win the gold medal.

Broadbell joins the ranks of former champions Omar McLeod and Hansle Parchment as the only Jamaicans to have won medals in the event at the Olympic Games.

Jamaican athletes have now secured one gold, three silver, and two bronze medals at the Games and will be eyeing more success on today’s ninth day of track and field action.

“It took three years for this to happen, from 2021 to 2024, so I waited three years to come out here and give my best shot, and I feel like I did just that. It has been a rough season for me, and, given the fact that tonight I am not wearing any tape, I am feeling good. No injuries, nothing,” Broadbell said. “I just got [to keep] the ball rolling until the end of the season. Let’s see how far I get until September. I am just looking forward to the Diamond Leagues.”

Meanwhile, Orlando Bennett was seventh in the event with a time of 13.34s, while Parchment, who won the event at the last Games, was eighth in 13.39s.

Also missing out on a medal were two-time World Championships bronze medallist Rushell Clayton, who fought valiantly but could only manage a fifth-place finish this time around, clocking 52.68 seconds — her second-fastest time this season. Shiann Salmon, 52.39, was sixth, with the American phenomenon, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, winning the event in a world record time of 50.37.

Another American, Anna Cockrell, 51.87 (PB), surprised to take the silver medal, while the bronze went to Dutchwoman Femke Bol, 52.15, who was expected to challenge McLaughlin-Levrone for the gold medal and world record.

Alana Reid, Shashalee Forbes, Kemba Nelson, and Tia Clayton are expected to return for the final of the women’s 4x100m relay at 12:30pm, while Jaydon Hibbert will contest the men’s triple jump final at 1:13 pm.

At 2:45 pm, Roshawn Clarke will close out the team’s medal push for the day in the final of the men’s 400m hurdles.