Sha'Carri Richardson delivers iconic image with 4x100 anchor leg stare down in Paris

USA track star Sha’Carri Richardson had to come from behind to lead the United States to a win in the women’s 4×100 relay on Friday at the Paris Olympics.

Richardson was a few meters out of first place when she grabbed the baton on the final leg of the relay, before cruising to a gold medal on the rainy night.

At one point it was clear Sha’Carri Richardson knew that she had the gold medal locked up as she turned to her opponents while running past them. You can check out the iconic photo below:

absolutely THE COLDEST PIC of the Olympics

Sha’Carri Richardson stares down other runners as she comes from behind to win gold🏅 pic.twitter.com/kgSyzJgAPE

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 9, 2024

In addition to Richardson, Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha “TeeTee” Terry and Gabby Thomas are also on the 4×100 women’s relay team. The group finished with a time of 41.78 seconds.

The 24-year-old Richardson previously attended LSU where she won the national championship. Earlier in the Olympics, she won a silver medal in the 100 meter final, finishing behind Julien Alfred of Saint Lucia.

As for Friday’s action, Great Britain earned the silver medal, while Germany is going home with the bronze.

Sha’Carri Richardson saved Team USA in prelims, too

On paper, Team GB was the biggest threat to the U.S. women. The Brits won one of the two heats in Thursday’s prelims. But in the finals, the Americans beat them by .07.

And about those prelims — the U.S. women had a difficult time in the opening round. It wasn’t their speed, but the handoffs. The exchange with Sha’Carri Richardson, the silver medalist in the 100, was shaky. But she turned on the jets and made up the deficit on Germany’s Rebekka Haase. The Americans won the heat.

Circling back to the finals, Team GB was the one who needed to overcome bad handoffs. Meanwhile, Jamaica had been the defending gold medalists. In Tokyo, their women’s team featured the entire podium from the 100 meters. But none of those three women competed in the 100 meters earlier this week.

The U.S. men suffered through a far different result than the women. Kenny Bednarek, the silver medalist from the 200 meters, left too early on the second exchange. That slowed the entire relay. Then after the finish, the Americans learned they’d been disqualified. not a good result as the Olympic track competition winds down.

The good news for the United States is that Richardson and the women’s 4×100 team had a great race, even if the men weren’t able to duplicate it.