The image shows Richardson looking confidently to her right as she wins the gold medal in the 4×100-meter relay at the Olympics. This is Richardson’s first gold medal of the competition; she had previously won a silver in the 100-meter final.
More than the gold that followed, the staredown, known as the “Shar’Carri Stare,” captured the attention of the country.
Refinery29 published an interview with Richardson on Tuesday. “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 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.”
In the 4×100-meter relay, Richardson ran the last leg for Team USA, which was composed of Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson, and Twanisha Terry. Thomas gave the baton to Richardson for finishing third, but Richardson raced a strong anchor leg to win the gold.
Richardson looked across at the sprinters from Germany and Great Britain, who placed second and third in the relay, as she got closer to the finish line.
Richardson clarified that the expression was more directed toward her than at her rivals, despite the fact that it has been called a stare. “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,” she stated to Refinery29.
“I’m always my biggest competitor (so I had to) leave my best on the track,” she stated. “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.”
The picture might not make it into the permanent collection of the Louvre Museum in Paris, but the anchor leg masterwork will hang on her walls. “I may have to put it up in my house,” she replied.
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