You may have seen the viral photo of Sha’Carri Richardson from the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Richardson looks confidently to her right on her way to the Olympic gold medal in the 4x100m relay, the first gold medal of Richardson’s career after taking silver in the 100m final. It is called the “char curry look.” The nation was captivated by more than the gold that followed.
“I looked around and knew that no matter what happened, I wasn’t going to let anyone — not even myself — get in front of me,” Richardson said. Refinery 29 “I couldn’t even afford to not cross the finish line in first place and get that medal, or let these ladies down and the support that we received when we came in to cross the finish line in first place as Team USA,” she said in an interview published Tuesday.
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Richardson ran the final leg for Team USA — Richardson, Gabby Thomas, Melissa Jefferson and Tawanisha Terry — in the 4x100m relay. Richardson took the baton from Thomas in third place, but Richardson ran a dominant decisive leg to secure the gold medal. As she approached the finish line, Richardson glanced at the runners from Great Britain and Germany, who finished second and third in the relay, respectively.
While the look was described as a look of disdain, Richardson explained that it was more about her than her competitors. “The look from the other side was like a mirror on my side, and I’m just looking at a version of myself that no one else can see,” she told Refinery29.
“I’m always my biggest competitor (so I had to) give my best on the track,” she added. “So just looking at it was a show that the hard work we all put into 4×1 racing wasn’t going to go to waste.”
Although the photo may not end up in the Louvre in Paris, the masterpiece she took from the anchor’s leg will be a work of art on its walls. “I might have to put it in my house,” she said.
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