No one can accuse Sanya Richards of choking any more. She is now truly the best female quartermiler in the world.
For the past four seasons, the former Longhorn has been ranked No. 1 in the world by Track & Field News in the 400 meters, but she kept coming up short when it mattered most: the big championships. Despite being strongly favored each year, she placed second in the 2005 Worlds, a battle with Behcet’s disease kept her off the 2007 Worlds team, and she faded down the stretch in Beijing to take third at the 2008 Olympics.
There was no fading this year: Today in Berlin at the IAAF World Championships, she powered her way around the track in 49 seconds flat and finally got the gold.
Richards was born in Jamaica but moved to the United States at the age of 12 and now lives in Austin. She ran for the Longhorns in 2003 and 2004 before turning pro.
Others with Austin or UT connections have been doing well in Berlin over the past four days:
Today:
* Reagan High School grad Brendan Christian, who now competes for the island nation of Antigua and Barbuda, qualified for the semifinals of the men’s 200 meters.
* Former Austinite Amy Acuff qualified for the World Championships final in the high jump for the seventh time in her magnificent career. She also placed fourth in the 2004 Olympics, and will retire at the end of this season.
* 2008 Olympic champion and former Longhorn Melaine Walker qualified for the final of the 400 meter hurdles, competing for Jamaica.
Yesterday:
* Former Longhorn Leonel Manzano and Austinite Lopez Lomong both qualified for the final of the 1,500 meters. Both are veterans of the Beijing Olympic team. Manzano grew up in Marble Falls.
* Austinite Diana Pickler placed 11th in the heptathlon with a score of 6,086 points.
Monday:
* Former Longhorn Michelle Carter placed sixth in the shot put with a throw of 18.96 meters (62 feet, 2 1/2 inches).
During the week, the championships are being broadcast on the Versus network; Saturday and Sunday, they will be shown on NBC. Or, from inside the United States, they can be viewed in their entirety with no commercial interruption, at www.universalsports.com.
This article appears in August 14 • 2009.