  We propose two possible trial wave functions for the elementary excitations
of the SU(3) Haldane--Shastry model, but then argue on very general grounds
that only one or the other can be a valid excitation. We then prove explicitly
that the trial wave function describing a coloron excitation which transforms
according to representation $\bar{3}$ under SU(3) rotations if the spins of the
original model transform according to representation 3, is exact. If a basis
for the spins on the chain is spanned by the colors blue, red, and green, a
basis for the coloron excitations is hence given by the complementary colors
yellow, cyan, and magenta. We obtain the dispersion and the exclusion
statistics among polarized colorons. Furthermore, we compare our results with
the asymptotic Bethe Ansatz and discuss the generalization to SU($n$).
