Sanya Richards‘ bid to step outside her 400-meter comfort zone and try for gold in the 200 meters fell well short today at the 11th IAAF World Championships in Track & Field in Osaka, Japan. The former Longhorn and 2003 NCAA champion came slowest out of the blocks and was never really a factor; her time of 22.70 seconds in fifth place was far behind defending champion Allyson Felix’s 21.81, the fastest time in the world this year.

Richards is widely acknowledged as the best 400 meter sprinter in the world, but a bad race at the U.S. championships gave her fourth place in that event, one shy of what was required to make the national team. She then landed a spot in Osaka in the 200, where she doesn’t enjoy nearly the same dominance.

Richards still has a chance to salvage her Osaka experience: She is on the U.S. 4×400 meter relay squad that competes this weekend, most likely running the anchor leg.

(On a related Texan note, Waco’s Jeremy Wariner &ndash who shares coach Clyde Hart with Richards &ndash easily defended his 400 meter title, running a lifetime best of 43.45, the fifth-fastest clocking in history.)

This article appears in August 31 • 2007.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US