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USATF Q&A with sprinter Sanya Richards

Posted June 10th, 2007 at 1:45 PM by Martha Jones

Section: News & Results, Track & Field, Special Features, Interviews

Sanya Richards Q: What can we expect to see from you tomorrow?

A: I’m going to run really well tomorrow. I’ve been sick, but the good thing is I’ve been training really well. What I’m really going to try to do is execute a great race. I have no control over the weather or the wind, so I’m not going to predict a time, but I’m going to execute a really good race.

Q: Have you ever identified the illness that you had?

A: I had really bad ulcers, kind of a flu-like thing. They thought it could’ve been mono or strep throat, but it wasn’t any of those. It was really tough for me because there were times when I couldn’t even talk because my mouth was so sore and painful. I’m feeling much better now and I’m hoping that it won’t reoccur.

Q: After such an amazing 2006 season, what do you do for an encore this year?

A: I’m really excited about this year. I really want to go out and win the World Championships and that’s motivating me. I was really blessed to be World Athlete of the Year, and I’m not going to pressure myself to get it again. I just want to have a great season and be a world champion.

Q: Will you compete in both the 200 and 400 meters at the AT&T USA Outdoor Championships in Indianapolis later this month?

A: Absolutely. I definitely want to double there, now that I haven’t run too many races I definitely want to run both of them at U.S. Nationals and hopefully make the team, and then pray that they drop a round at the World Championships and I can do a double there again.

Q: Do you have any time goals for this season?

A: Absolutely. In the 400 I want to run sub-48.2, and in the 200 I want dip under 22 seconds. Allyson (Felix), Sherone (Simpson) and myself have been flirting with it, and I’m hoping I can get into some great races with them and dip under 22 seconds.

Q: With the illness now gone, how far behind is your training from where you’d like to be at this point?

A: I’m not far behind at all. Coach Hart and I, sometimes I have to tell him that he was working me too hard to try to catch me back up to where I was, but it really paid dividends that he kept records of all my training, and when we looked back at where I was last year and where I am now, I’m actually ahead of where I was, so I think I’m in great shape.

For more information on the 2007 Nike Prefontaine Classic and USATF’s Visa Championship Series, visit www.usatf.org.