By Isaac Gibson
Sanya Richards-Ross was given a standing ovation by the Hayward Field crowd Friday evening, not because she won her race, but because she did not finish.
The 2012 Olympic gold medalist pulled out of the first round of the women’s 400 meters at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on the back curve due to a hamstring injury she suffered at a race in Atlanta on June 4.
Richards-Ross had announced earlier this season that she would retire at the end, and this was her last chance to make an Olympic team. When she dropped out the first thing on her mind was, “No Rio.”
“A reporter asked me before the meet how would I want to see my last race, and this was perfect,” she said. “To have these fans show me so much love, It was really special to share this last night with these fans.
“Man, I’ve been so blessed, so I can’t cry,” she said.
Richards-Ross rose to stardom when she won the NCAA 400-meter championship in her freshman year at the University of Texas. She won her first Olympic medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, where she placed third in the 400. At the 2012 London Olympic Games, she doubled in the 400 and 4×400 relay and won gold in both.
“I think I grew a lot in this sport,” said Richards-Ross as her eyes began to well. “My lows have been just as special as my highs, and they taught me a lot about myself and it made me a better person.
“Sometimes you give everything you have, and it doesn’t work out, and that’s OK too,” she said as tears began to roll down her face. “I’ve definitely learned a lot… and I’ll forever love this sport.”
In her heat was Courtney Okolo, who just won her second consecutive 400-meter NCAA title for the Longhorns. A favorite to go to Rio, she won the heat in 50.78 seconds.
“She means a lot to us,” Okolo said. “Everyone who came up when I came up, we all watched Sanya Richards-Ross, like she was our idol.”
Richards-Ross believes the fans will remember her not because she was a champion, but because she ran with heart every time she stepped on the track.
If she could tell everyone who has ever supported her one thing, she said, it would be, “Thank you.”
