Sanya Richards-Ross

            Sanya Richards-Ross was born on February 26, 1985 in Kingston, Jamaica. She moved to Fort Lauderdale, Florida when she was 12 to pursue her athletic dreams. She displayed her talents early on, scoring a silver medal in the 400-meter and a bronze medal in the 200-meter dash at the 2002 World Junior Championships. That same year, she was named the Gatorade National High School Girls Track & Field Athlete of the Year. While she was a student at the University of Texas, Richards-Ross became the 2003 NCAA 400-meter champion. That same year, she won the NCAA Indoor Championship in the 200-meter dash. At the 2004 Summer Olympics, Richards-Ross won a gold medal in the 400-meter relay.

            In the 2008 Olympic Games 400-meter final, Richards-Ross earned Team USA’s fourth Olympic medal ever in the 400-meter dash and the first since 1984 with the winning time of 49.89. In 2009, she was the 2009 World Champion, was named IAAF World Female Athlete of the Year, was nominated for the prestigious Laureus Award, earned her 5^th US National title, and achieved the most 400-meter races ran under 50 seconds. However, due to multiple injuries, she did not compete for most of the 2010 season. When 2011 came around, Richards-Ross competed at the Aviva Grand prix in London and ran 49.66 seconds in the 400-meter dash. She also led her teammates to a gold medal in the 4-by-400-meter relay, becoming a World Champion again. The first American woman to do so in 28 years, and only the 2nd in history, Sanya Richards-Ross became Olympic Champion in the 400-meter dash at the 2012 Olympic Games in London with a time of 49.28. She also won a gold medal in the 4-by-100-meter relay, breaking the Olympic record.

            She is happily married to Aaron Ross, a professional football player. He played for New York Giants from 2007-2011, but now plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars.  

"Sanya Richards-Ross Biography." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. <http://www.biography.com/people/sanya-richards-ross>.

"Sanya Richards-Ross." USA Track and Field. USA Track & Field, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. <http://www.usatf.org/Athlete-Bios/Sanya-Richards-Ross.aspx>.

 "About SRR." Sanya About SRR Comments. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. <http://www.sanyarichardsross.com/>.