Sanya Richards

Infobox runner
runnername = Sanya Richards

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imagesize = 200px
caption = Sanya at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
nationality =USA
distance(s) = 400 m
club =
collegeteam =
birthdate =Birth date and age|1985|2|26|df=yes
birthplace =Kingston, Jamaica
residence = Austin, Texas
deathdate =
deathplace =
height =convert|173|cm|ftin
weight =convert|61|kg|lb
medaltemplates =MedalCountry|USA

Sanya Richards (born February 26, 1985 in Kingston, Jamaica) is a track and field athlete who competes internationally for the United States. She was a gold medalist in the 4x400m relay at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

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.

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. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/draft07/news/story?id=2822133 Track star girlfriend pushes Texas' Ross] ]

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 [. [http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=512/newsId=36753.html $100,000 the richer, Powell and Richards are the World Athletes of the Year] ] 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.

Major achievements

Audio interview

* [http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/08/podcast-74-sanya-richards-hours-before-her-first-world-championship-race-in-osaka/ Sanya Richards discusses her goals and disappointments coming into the 2007 IAAF World Championships in Osaka, Japan]
* [http://www.thefinalsprint.com/2007/03/podcast-25-interview-with-sprinter-sanya-richards/ TheFinalSprint.com's interview with sprinter Sanya Richards]

Video Interviews

* [http://www.flocasts.com/flotrack/speakers.php?sid=233&vid=2854 Flotrack Interview with Sanya Richards]

ponsorship

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. [ [http://www.nutrilite.com/en-us/TeamNutrilite/Athletes/Sanya-Richards.aspx Amway and Nutrilite Athletes ] ]

Personal

Sanya is currently engaged to New York Giants cornerback Aaron Ross. [Citation |last=Townsend |first=Brad |title=Sanya Richards: More than snake-bitten |url=http://olympicsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/08/sanya-richards-more-than-snake.html |publisher="Dallas Morning News" |date=2008-08-19 |accessdate=2008-08-19]

References

External links

* [http://sanyarichards.net Official Website]
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* [http://usatf.org/athletes/bios/Richards_Sanya.asp USA T&F - Sanya Richards]
* [http://usuarios.lycos.es/sandrakba/sanyarichards.htm Sanya Richards Pictures]
* [http://usolympicteam.com/26_22222.htm Sanya Richards' U.S. Olympic Team bio]

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