On a rain-slicked track, Sha’Carri Richardson clinched the gold medal for Team USA in the women’s 4x100-meter relay at the Paris Olympics, dominating the final leg of the race.
The U.S. relay team, comprised of some of the fastest women in the world, included Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson and Twanisha Terry.
Thomas, who ran the third leg, had previously won her first Olympic gold in the 200-meter event, while Richardson took silver in the individual 100-meter.
Richardson had been favored to win gold in the 100-meter but got off to a poor start and struggled to close the distance between herself and Saint Lucia’s Julien Alfred, who secured her nation’s first-ever Olympic medal, according to the Olympics.
When Thomas handed the baton to Richardson, Team USA was in third place, trailing behind Great Britain and Germany. Despite a slight fumble during the handoff, Richardson accelerated, quickly pulling into the lead.
As she overtook her competitors, Richardson glanced at them in a moment that has since gone viral, with NBC Olympics dubbing it the “Sha’Carri stare.”
While the stare appeared to be a show of confidence, Richardson later revealed a deeper meaning behind it.
In an interview with Refinery29, she explained that the look was more about herself than her competitors, describing it as if she were looking in a mirror and racing against herself.
“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,” Richardson said. “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.”
“And so just looking over, it was more so showing that the hard work that all of us ladies in that 4x1 put in was not going to be in vain,” she continued.