There are few athletes in the world who can claim to be as iconic as the late Flo-Jo. But Sha’Carri Richardson definitely comes close. The reigning women’s 100m world champ failed to secure gold in the event at the Paris Olympics but compensated for the miss by anchoring Team USA to a gold in the women’s 4x100m relay. Along with the breakneck speed, her elaborate style statement on the purple tracks also turned several heads, and for good reasons. However, it wasn’t just Richardson who came up with the athlete’s eccentric fashion at the 33rd Olympics.

In the months leading up to the 2024 Olympics, Richardson steadily gained momentum, winning the women’s 100m races at both the prestigious Prefontaine Classic and the U.S. Team Trials. The 24-year-old proved she was ready to make her debut on the big stage. However, it was her nails that ultimately stole the show, thanks to a few creative minds who ensured Sha’Carri was the show-stealer in the City of Love.

Sha’Carri Richardson is blessed with people who understand her requirements

The former LSU Tigers star made an appearance for an interview with Blavity TV recently, which was uploaded on YouTube yesterday. There, the sprinter talked about her experience in the French capital. At one point in the interview, when she was asked about the symbolism behind her look at the tournament, Sha’Carri couldn’t help but smile at the question. “I want to say that that process came from my team like literally. The women that I allow to create my looks for my hair to my nails the skin that’s just God,” Richardson revealed how her stylists came up with the ideas to make her stand out from the rest in Stade de France.

“I literally just allow them to do their thing. They honestly are very attentive. Even if I go out without talking to them, they’re attentive to my journey. They respect it and they are fully invested,” Sha’Carri acknowledged. She also talked about how her motto for the Olympic year gave her team suggestions about her fashion statement.

“I feel like my biggest mantra is I’m not back I’m better. So to continue to show that I’m not back I’m better, even for my nails in the 4×1 finals they literally on the nails said I’m not back I’m better,” grinned the runner, noting that it was also a representation of her pride as an American and carrying the Stars and Stripes on the grand stage. Unsurprisingly, her mindset also spilled onto the tracks in Paris, and it was a sight to behold.

An icon persona: both on and off the tracks

Fans were knees-deep into speculating about how Richardson would look for the women’s 100m race. “My looks are always mixed up. You never know what you’re going to get when it comes to me,” she told Elle ahead of the event in Paris. “I never play small, this is how I show up in life,” she added. “I wanted to focus on competing at my best, and my look reflected that. It was clean, fresh, and fast,” she said further. Sha’Carri had been hinting at something truly mesmerizing both on the track and in terms of fashion since the Olympic Trials. Ditching her signature fluorescent look for a more natural one in Eugene, Richardson made it clear that fashion could take a backseat in the City of Love, as her Olympic aspirations took center stage.

However, considering how she grew up in a family that loved to flaunt fashion, it was difficult to keep her roots hidden from the public gaze in France. “My grandmother, my aunt, and my mother all influence the beauty I exude to the world on a day-to-day basis, especially in big moments. They kept their nails well-manicured. Hair was also something that I saw a lot of attentiveness to,” she told Olympics.com.

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