Sha’Carri Richardson Explains What Led to Viral Cold-Blooded Olympic Stare Down

U.S. sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson had one of the bigger viral moments of the 2024 Paris Olympics when a photo of her glaring over her right shoulder and staring down other runners as she cruised to a gold-medal win in the 4x100m relay exploded over social media.

But what exactly prompted the 24-year-old track and field star’s the epic stare down in the first place? In a recent interview with Refinery29, Richardson explained how and why it all went down.

“The look over was — it's almost like it was a mirror on that side of me, and I'm just looking at a version of myself that nobody but me could see, if that makes sense,” Richardson explained . “I looked over and I just knew that no matter what was going on, there was nobody that I was going to allow — even myself — to be in front of me. I know that sounds crazy, but I was in that lane and feeling like I'm always my biggest competitor [so I had to] leave my best on the track.”

Richardson maintains that the moment was less about the other competitors on the track with her and more about not letting the work she and her teammates put in to get to the Olympic stage and not letting it be in vain.

“It was like the baton was just full of love and determination,” she said. “I knew that when I had the baton in my hand, not only was it for these three ladies before me, but it's for a nation.”