Thursday 17 January 2008

Sanya Richards, the 2006 World Athlete of the Year, last year cruised to her second consecutive IAAF Golden League Jackpot victory. Splitting her off-season between New Jersey – her boyfriend Aaron Ross plays for the NFL’s New York Giants – and Austin, the 22-year-old American 400m record holder is now firmly focused on Beijing, and is at her training base in Austin full-time.

Richards now catches us up on what she’s been doing since she resumed training in early November. Among the highlights was her marriage proposal which was broadcast on national television. (She said yes.)

“This was my most exciting Holiday season yet! I went on vacation to Jamaica, I got to spend a lot of time in the Big Apple, I travelled for different sponsorship appearances, but most exciting of them all was [Aaron] Ross' proposal on December 15th before the [NFL Washington] Redskins game. Definitely the highlight of my holidays!!!”

Did she take time the holidays off?

“I went for runs on Christmas Eve and New Year's Day. I think this has been the easiest year to find motivation on those days as all I can think about is going to Beijing!”

Off the track...