Career
Richards-Ross started running at an early age - 7-years old. She lettered in Track and Field and 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 became a naturalized American citizen in 2002.
As a freshman at the University of Texas in 1983, Richards won the NCAA national championship in the 400 meters with a time of 50.58. After her freshman year, she turned pro.
At the Athens Olympics in 2004, Richards was part of the US team which finished first in the 4×400 meters relay. 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 IAAF Golden League events 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. After failing to qualify for the 400 m at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka due to illness which caused her to finish fourth in the US trials, Richards-Ross 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.
During the 2009 season, Richards-Ross 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. A win in 49.46 s at the Golden Gala in Rome broke Marita Koch's record for most sub-50 second runs, bringing Richards' career total to 36. Coming up to the World Championships, Richards won her fourth Golden League race in the 400 m with the time of 49.34 seconds and won her first global championship in the 400 m at the 2009 IAAF World Athletics Championships in Berlin with a world leading time of 49.00 seconds. Richards-Ross also anchored team USA to a gold medal in the women's 4 x 400 m relay in the sixth fastest time in history of 3.17.83 minutes, Richards-Ross split time in the relay was unofficially 48.43 seconds. After a career defining World Championships, Richards-Ross went on to win her final two Golden League races with a new world leading times of 48.94 seconds (Zurich) and 48.83 seconds (Brussels) to share in the $1M dollar jackpot with men's 3000 m/5000 m winner Kenenisa Bekele and women's pole vault winner Yelena Isinbayeva, each receiving US$333,333; this was the third time Richards had won the Golden League Jackpot. Sanya Richards-Ross ended her massive season on a high by winning silver in the 200 m at the IAAF World Athletics Final behind world champion Allyson Felix with a time of 22.29 seconds, and by winning gold in the 400m with a time of 49.95 seconds; achieving her 41st sub-50 second 400m run.
Returning from an injury that prematurely ended her 2010 season, in 2011 Richards-Ross ran an impressive 49.66 just prior to the World Championships, in Daegu, South Korea but wound up seventh in the final. She later returned to top form in the 4x400 m relay, this time running the lead-off leg in an impressive 49.1, setting the team up for victory. It was her record fifth gold medal from the World Championships.
At the 2012 London Olympics on August 5, 2012, Richards-Ross finished the women’s 400m in 49.55 to win the gold medal for the US. Richards-Ross also ran the anchor leg of the gold medal-winning US women's 4x400m relay team. Following the Olympics, Richards-Ross won the remaining Diamond League meetings over 400m in Stockholm (49.89) and Zurich (50.21), the win in Stockholm improved her career total of sub-50 second races to an unchallenged 46.
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