The 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris are set to begin! So, it seems pertinent to note that the Bravosphere has an Olympian of its own. This sports giant is none other than Real Housewives of Atlanta alum Sanya Richards-Ross. Even though she is no longer holding her peach and has since been replaced, it is hard to forget that she was an imposing track runner who left her competitors in the dust.
Sanya’s career
Currently, Sanya serves as a track and field analyst for NBC Sports. In her decorated career, Sanya won five Olympic medals. Sanya made her Olympic debut at the Athens Olympics in 2004. It was there she won the gold medal in the 4×400-meter relay. The former Bravo star then came back for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She won a gold medal in the 4×400 meter relay and a bronze in the 400 meter. Sanya once again represented the United States of America and won gold medals in the 400m and 4×400 meter relay at the 2012 London Olympics.
Sanya was well-known on the international stage, too. She won nine combined medals while competing at the outdoor and indoor World Championship meets. There, she won four gold medals in the outdoor 4×400-meter relay. The former peach also won two individual gold medals in the 400m at the 2009 Outdoor World Championships and 2012 World Indoor Championships. Not one to rest on her laurels, Sanya set the American record for the 400m (48.70), an accomplishment that still stands. Sanya also holds the record for the most sub-50-second sprints in the event’s history, with a career total of 49 times.
Retirement
With such a decorated track career, it wasn’t a surprise that Sanya retired shortly after the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials on July 1st. At the time, the runner noted that overtraining was a big part of hanging up her sneakers. After an attempt to qualify at the U.S. Olympic trials for her fourth Games, Sanya later told ESPN that she “literally felt my hamstring grab onto me.” It left her unable to compete in her 400-meter preliminary heat.
At an Atlanta meet, the University of Texas Alum had suffered a grade-two hamstring strain only a few weeks previously. But as Sanya announced her departure from the sport, the then 31-year-old was greeted with a standing ovation. The mother of two then made her TV commentator debut in 2016 during the U.S. Olympic Trials. She then served as an analyst for the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Why Sanya never ran for Jamica
As Real Housewives of Atlanta fans watched during her season, Sanya took the women of the ATL back to her home country. But Sanya always represented the United States when it came to meets. Even though her roots were in Jamaica, as she spent the first 11 years of her life in Kingston, Sanya always showed unwavering allegiance to the stars and stripes. Fans might question why she chose the USA when Jamaica is a direct rival in track and field.
Sanya recently explained the decision to stay and compete for America via Pulse Sport, sharing that at 16, she was invited by the U.S. junior team to compete at the Junior nationals. Sanya shared, “At that point, I had been in the States for four years, all my friends are American, I had pretty much adapted to the culture here, but I went to sign up, and she was like, ‘Oh, we need your passport.” In a gutsy move, she convinced her parents to expedite their path to American citizenship. In the end, the USA brought way more endorsement deals than Jamaica. Sanya shared, “To get the partnership deals I got and just all of the things that I was able to benefit from, being an American Citizen and running for Team USA I think, was the best decision for me.”
Sanya reigned supreme in the 400m world rankings from 2005 to 2012. So even though she might have handed in her peach, she will forever be a sports icon. And let’s just say none of the Real Housewives have gold medals to brag about like Sanya.
TELL US – DO YOU MISS SANYA ON THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF ATLANTA?
