Sha'Carri Richardson Side Eyes Opponent Before Speeding By During Race

Sha'Carri Richardson continues to show she's one of the fastest women alive ... blowing by a German runner and hitting her with the side eye during a qualifying relay race in Paris on Thursday, and the moment was pretty epic!

It all went down during the last leg of the women's 4x100m relay when Richardson got the baton from teammate Gabby Thomas (and 200m gold medalist) ... who was behind in the race after a shaky exchange from Twanisha Terry going into the third leg.

The misstep meant Team USA was in second place (despite being favored to win the race) ... with Germany's Rebekka Haase leading with less than 100 meters remaining in the race. If USA failed to qualify, there would be no running for another gold.

But, Richardson wasn't gonna let her squad down.

Despite starting behind a sizeable distance, Sha'Carri seemed to easily run down (at least that's how it looked) her opp, and when Richardson was finally level with the German, she threw on the afterburners, and was gone!

Fans were awed by Richardson's sudden speed -- seemingly hitting another gear -- and in the process giving Team USA the win. The relay team finished the race with a time of 41.94 seconds.

"The look as she’s passing her -- iconic," a fan wrote online.

The win puts the ladies in the 4x100m relay final on Friday at Stade de France.