The Olympic Track and Field events kick off this weekend and all eyes are going to be focused on one of the most promising American runners the Olympics have seen in years. Get acquainted with three-time Olympic medal winner Sanya Richards-Ross.
Sanya was born in Kingston, Jamaica and discovered running at age 7. She moved to Florida with her family when she was 12 and became an official US citizen in 2002. That same year she was also named National High School Female Athlete of the Year and USA Track and Field’s Youth Athlete of the Year. Not too shabby.
Looking for some random facts on this Olympic track star? We’ve got you covered. Sanya was born on February 26, 1985 which would make her a Pisces, and when she’s not training and watching her diet she enjoys noshing eggs, waffles and traditional Jamaican cooking. Since 2007 she has battled Behçet’s disease, a rare and incurable immune system deficiency. Obviously it’s not enough to slow her down from leaving her competitors in the dust.
That would be Aaron Ross of the Jacksonville Jaguars standing next to Sanya. The cornerback married Sanya in 2010 and the couple had their wedding filmed as part of WE TV’s Platinum Weddings. If there’s a more athletic couple out there, please step forward.
Besides being a powerhouse on the track and cheering on her NFL husband, Sanya also co-owns a hair salon in Austin, Texas with her sister-in-law. So the girl’s got the athletic speed of a cheetah and some business savvy to back it up, pretty hot if you ask us.
After coming back from a leg injury in 2010 and scoring gold in the 4×400 meter relay and bronze in the 400 meter at Bejing in 2008, 2012 could be Sanya’s last chance at bringing home an individual Olympic gold medal in track and field.
In addition to being sponsored by Nike and getting all the free Nike Lunarglides she wants, Sanya’s also sponsored by BP, BMW, Citibank, and Nutrilite. BMW rides and free gas, booyah!
Sanya splits her time between Secaucus, NJ and Austin, TX and trains 5 days a week with a workout that includes distance running, sprints, weightlifting and Pilates. Your 40 push-ups a day don’t seem so impressive anymore, huh?
Sanya will join fellow US Track and Field stars Allyson Felix and Carmelita Jeter in the Olympic stadium for the track and field events Friday. She became a world champion after winning the gold medal in the 400 meter race at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin and has an estimated net worth of $1 million.
In 2010, Sanya co-starred in a Footlocker commercial titled “The Educators” directed by Training Day director Antoine Fuqua. Sanya and fellow athletes Rajon Rondo, Amare Stoudemire, Justin Tuck, and Desean Jackson were called in to whip a school’s students into fighting shape for the upcoming athletic season. The commercial caught the eyes of the folks over at The Onion who did their own parody.
There’s no easy shortcut to getting abs of titanium. After deciding to get serious about her track and field career in high school, Sanya started doing a thousand crunches a day!