Sanya Richards
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Women's athletics | |||
| Gold | Athens 2004 | 4x400m Relay | |
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 studies engineering at the University of Texas at Austin. She is a singer and a dancer, regularly putting on shows for family and friends.
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 his 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.
