Richards Still Alive for at Least Half a Million Bucks

Austinite Sanya Richards had a disappointing week at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships (see previous posts), but her mood no doubt lifted today as she stayed in contention for a share of the IAAF Golden League $1 million jackpot. She kept her share of the money by winning the 400 meters at the Weltklasse meet in Zurich in a time of 49.36 seconds.

Richards must be wondering "what if?" She performed poorly at June's U.S. national championships and failed to make the U.S. team in the 400, her specialty. She then had to settle for fifth in the 200 meters at the worlds in Osaka, and sit in the stands while Great Britain's Christine Ohuruogu took the 400 crown.

Today, however, Richards blasted the Zurich field by almost a second and a half, well ahead of Osaka bronze medalist Novlene Williams of Jamaica, with Ohuruogu well-beaten in fourth. Richards' time was a quarter-second faster than Ohuruogu's world championship clocking.

Any athlete who can win their event in all six Golden League meetings can claim a share of the $1 million. Through four meets this summer, only Richards and Russian pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva are still in the running. The two remaining meets are in Brussels on Sept. 14 and Berlin on Sept. 16. The Golden League meets can be viewed live at Sportnet.com, or on television tape delay on the Versus network.