The hero of America's 4x100 women's relay at the Paris Olympics , Sha'carri Richardson grabbed the baton for the final leg, surging from third place to a comfortable gold medal victory .
Her 10.09-second leg left her enough time to offer what many viewed as a menacing glance back at the Olympic field, but the Team USA superstar insists that her smirk was simply a symbolic look in the mirror.
“Honestly, that look over, if I had to just highlight anything, 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 told Refinery 21.
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"I was just like, there’s no way that I’m not going to leave my best on the track. And so just looking over, it was more so showing that the hard work that all of us ladies in that 4×1 put in was not going to be in vain.
"I wasn’t going to even allow myself to not cross that finish line in first place and not get that medal, or to let down those ladies and the support that we received when it comes to us crossing the finish line, in first place as Team USA."
Richardson's Parisian summer began in disappointment in the 100m, where she was a runaway favorite to secure her first career gold medal. The Dallas native suffered a slow start on the Stade de France's purple track, and was never able to catch up with St. Lucia's Julian Alfred and took home the silver.
She risked missing out on the medal table entirely in the subsequent 4x100, as the combination of Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry and fellow track sensation Gabby Thomas narrowly held onto third place position entering the final hand-off. But despite rainy conditions in the French capital, Richardson ran her 100 meters nearly .3 seconds than silver medalists Great Britain and .1 seconds faster than any other runner on the last leg.
After clarifying that her look back was not a slight against her fellow Olympians, Richardson went on to take tremendous pride in her gesture and her achievement, even considering framing the iconic moment. "I may have to put it up in my house." The interviewer suggested the still could be hung in the Louvre, Paris' iconic art museum, to which Richardson added: "You know what I’m saying! I’m right down the street."
It's now Richardson and the Team USA 4x100 squad's second international title in as many years, taking gold during the World Athletics Championships in Budapest, where the sprinter also won gold in the 100m and bronze in the 200m. The former LSU star and current star of track coach Dennis Mitchell will look ahead to the 2025 WAC in Tokyo.
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