Sanya Richards

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Sanya Richards Sanya at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics Nationality:  United States Distance(s): 400 m Date of birth: February 26, 1985 (1985-02-26) (age 24) Place of birth: Kingston, Jamaica Residence: Austin, Texas Height: 173 centimetres (5 ft 8 in) Weight: 61 kilograms (130 lb)

Medal record Competitor for  United States Women's athletics Olympic Games Gold 2008 Beijing 4×400 m relay Gold 2004 Athens 4×400 m relay Bronze 2008 Beijing 400 m World Championships Gold 2003 Paris 4×400 m relay Gold 2007 Osaka 4×400 m relay Silver 2005 Helsinki 400 m

Sanya Richards (born February 26, 1985 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a track and field athlete who competes internationally for the United States. She won two Olympic Gold medals in the 4×400m relay at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China. She also won an individual bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics, for the 400m.

Contents 1 Career 2 Sponsorship 3 Personal 4 Statistics 4.1 Competition record 4.2 Personal bests 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Career

Richards left Jamaica for the USA at the age of 12 and became a US citizen in May 2002. At St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, she lettered in basketball in high school and is a member of the National Honor Society, ending her high school academic career with a 4.0 grade point average. In 2002 she was named National High School Female Athlete of the Year, USA Track and Field's Youth Athlete of the Year, and Track and Field News Women's Prep Athlete of the Year.

She has won a silver medal in the 400 meters at 2005 World Championships in Athletics. In 2006, together with Jeremy Wariner (400 m) and Asafa Powell (100 m) she won her sixth out of six Golden League events (100 m) in the same season, which earned her a total of $250,000. She broke Valerie Brisco-Hooks' US record of 48.83 with a 48.70 at the end of the 2006 season and was named IAAF 2006 Female World Athlete of the Year^[1] After failing to qualify for the 400m at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka due to illness which caused her to finish fourth in the US trials, Richards was the favourite to win gold in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and qualified fastest for the final, but went out of the blocks too quickly and was overtaken in the finishing straight by Christine Ohuruogu of Great Britain and Shericka Williams of Jamaica, consigning her to the bronze medal.

In the 2009 season, Richards took the 400 m national title in 50.05 seconds, finishing over half a second faster than the second placed Debbie Dunn. Although she expected faster times, she stated that winning the 2009 World Championships in Berlin was her number one goal.^[2]

[edit] Sponsorship

In Aug 2007, Sanya was signed as a global brand spokesperson for Nutrilite, the world's leading brand of vitamin, mineral and dietary supplements (based on 2006 sales). Nutrilite products are sold through Amway corporation. ^[3]

[edit] Personal

Richards graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2006 with a degree in management information systems. She is a singer and a dancer, regularly putting on shows for family and friends. Since 2007, she has been engaged to current New York Giants cornerback & Super Bowl champion, Aaron Ross. They have been dating since 2003.^[4][5]

[edit] Statistics

[edit] Competition record

Year	Tournament	Venue	Event	Place	Result
2002	World Junior Championships	Kingston, Jamaica	200m	3rd	23.09
			400m	2nd	51.49
2003	World Championships	Saint-Denis, France	400m	11th	51.32
2004	Olympic Games	Athens, Greece	400m	6th	50.19
2005	World Championships	Helsinki, Finland	400m	2nd	49.74
	World Athletics Final	Monaco, Monaco	400m	1st	49.52
2006	World Indoor Championships	Moscow, Russia	400m	9th	52.46
	World Athletics Final	Stuttgart, Germany	200m	2nd	22.17
			400m	1st	49.25
	World Cup	Athens, Greece	400m	1st	48.70
			200m	1st	22.23
2007	World Championships	Osaka, Japan	200m	5th	22.70
2008	Olympic Games	Beijing, China	400m	3rd	49.93

[edit] Personal bests

Event	Time (seconds)	Venue	Date
60 meters	7.21	Lincoln, Nebraska, United States	February 28, 2004
100 meters	10.97	Shanghai, China	September 28, 2007
200 meters	22.17	Stuttgart, Germany	September 9, 2006
400 meters	48.70	Athens, Greece	September 16, 2006

• All information from IAAF profile.^[6]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• IAAF profile for Sanya Richards
• USA T&F - Sanya Richards
• Sanya Richards Pictures
• Sanya Richards' U.S. Olympic Team bio

• Sanya Richards discusses her goals and disappointments coming into the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan
• TheFinalSprint.com's interview with sprinter Sanya Richards
• Flotrack Interview with Sanya Richards

Awards
Preceded by Yelena Isinbayeva	Women's Track & Field Athlete of the Year 2006	Succeeded by Meseret Defar

v • d • e IAAF World Cup Champions in Women's 200 m  1977: Irena Szewińska (POL)  •  1979 – 1981: Evelyn Ashford (USA)  •  1985: Marita Koch (GDR)  •  1989: Silke Möller (GDR)  •  1992: Marie-José Pérec (FRA)  •  1994: Merlene Ottey (JAM)  •  1998: Marion Jones (USA)  •  2002: Debbie Ferguson (BAH)  •  2006: Sanya Richards (USA)

v • d • e IAAF World Cup Champions in Women's 400 m  1977: Irena Szewińska (POL)  •  1979: Marita Koch (GDR)  •  1981: Jarmila Kratochvílová (TCH)  •  1985: Marita Koch (GDR)  •  1989: Ana Fidelia Quirot (CUB)  •  1992: Jearl Miles-Clark (USA)  •  1994: Irina Privalova (RUS)  •  1998: Falilat Ogunkoya (NGR)  •  2002: Ana Guevara (MEX)  •  2006: Sanya Richards (USA)