American sprinter Sha’Carri Richardson has revealed she was not staring her opponents down before crossing the finish line to win the 4x100m women’s final at the Olympic Games in France.

However, the truth is stranger than we’d imagine.

It did appear that Sha’Carri was sending a message to the other sprinters, letting them know they didn’t stand a chance. But, the way she tells it, she was looking at herself – sort of.

“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,” she told Refinery 29.

“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. 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.”

We Hope Sha’Carri Richardson Is Lying

We prefer the initial version in which everyone assumed it was a cocky staredown. The story is a lot cooler that way.

We don’t have to take her word for it either. We could continue to believe it’s exactly what we thought initially – maybe she’s just trying to avoid the Noah Lyles-type hate by playing the event down.

Of course, she has a right to gloat, given that she is one of the world’s fastest women, even if it’s before the finish line.

In any case, her actions gave us one of the more memorable moments of the 2024 Olympic Games. Good on her either way.