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What she’s Done: Has run on two gold-medal-winning 4x400 relay teams
Finished 3rd in the 2008 Olympic 400-meter final
Recorded more sub-50 second clockings for the 400-meters than any other woman in history
Watch Sanya's video blogs from the World Champs in Berlin
Worldwide, I’d have to say Zurich definitely has the best fans. In America, Eugene is definitely comparative and, by far, the best place in the United States.
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| Sanya Richards competes at the 2001 Florida State Meet
Photo by John Dye
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I don’t really have a pre-race ritual because I find that with track and field and traveling the country things are always different, sometimes we run early, sometimes we run late—there are just so many different elements that change what can happen. There is nothing that I do (before a race) other than I talk to my mom and dad. I always say a prayer with my fiancée. I always wear my bullet before my races. I say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” right before I run.
I always think that if you feel good and you look good, you’ll run good.
On being patient: The number one thing I’ve learned from Coach Hart is to be patient. I think, for most of us, you want to have the success right now. You want to double and triple and get all the medals you can each year. God willing, I can have a very long career. I’m only 24. Michael Johnson broke the world record when he was 32, so if I can have anything close to what he had, I’ll have eight more years in the sport. Coach Hart taught me to be patient and each year we can set goals and go after that goal.
On "Team Sanya": It’s been the number one key to the success I’ve had as a professional. My mom and dad both manage my career and they do all of my negotiations. Then I have Coach Hart, an amazing coach. Then I have a great strength coach, Bruce Johnson, who has been working with me for about seven years now. I have a massage therapist. He actually lives in Switzerland and he travels with me and helps me with all of my recovery. Then I have a Pilates instructor. They literally sacrifice all their time and effort into making sure that I’m prepared physically and mentally to compete really well. I think it’s important to have people around you that care, not just that you win a lot of races and make a lot of money, but that you’re happy and that you’re doing well.
On what she was thinking as she took the baton in the Olympic 4x400 final: We’re going to get this gold medal no matter how fast I am going to have to run.
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| Sanya wins the 400 meters at the 2008 Olympic Trials
Photo by John Nepolitan
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I usually start my training back up in November or late October and that’s all I do in the fall. I want to say from October until the end of December, I usually just go for longer runs, so Coach Hart usually breaks up 30-minute runs into, maybe, six five-minute runs or three ten-minute runs or two fifteen-minute runs. Then as I get closer to the season, like January or February, I do a lot of over-distance work, maybe 2 x 1,000 (meter repeats). We’ll do a bunch of 300’s. I still go for 30-minute runs. Sometimes we do 30-minute hill runs. I think every sprinter needs a strong base to be able to hold the speed and endurance throughout the season. I think as most athletes get away from their base is when their times start to fall off a bit because they no longer have that great strength base.
My parents come to every single track meet. My parents actually moved from Jamaica when I was 12. When I first decided to become a professional and started working in Waco, my dad actually came to Waco and stayed with me and helped me drive back and forth. Even now my dad drives me down (from Sanya’s home in Austin to Waco) and helps with the cooking. My parents have always been willing to alter their lives to help me be successful.
On tweeting during practice: I was on the track with Coach Hart and I think I had just done two 450’s and I was lying on the high jump mat. I had my phone next to me, so I tweeted that I was almost done, got to do my cool down—I was so tired. Coach Hart does not know that I am Twittering. He always says, “Is that your cell phone over there?” Actually, I had completed the hardest part of my workout, so I think he was chatting with Jeremy while I was Tweeting, so he has no idea.
(You can follow Sanya's tweets at twitter.com/AaronandSanya)
Parting words: I remember when I was in high school and DyeStat was my favorite website. I was on there all the time. I want to tell the youngsters in high school to continue to work hard and keep having fun. If they love track and field they can make a great living out of it and a lot of opportunities can come from their hard work, so never give up.
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