Personal Bests - Sanya Richards-Ross

Published by the IAAF on October 19, 2015

The latest athlete to answer our personal bests questions is Olympic 400m champion and US record-holder Sanya Richards-Ross.

The best piece of coaching advice

My best piece of coaching advice came from my long-time coach, Clyde Hart. Early in my career he always told me to be patient. His advice definitely bore fruit at the London 2012 Olympics. I was so disappointed with Olympic 400m bronze in 2008, but I had to remember Coach Hart’s wise words, “Be patient.” It was my patience and perseverance that allowed me to have the best moment of my career, my gold medal moment at the 2012 Olympic Games.

My best friend in athletics

My best friends are Nichole Denby (African 100m hurdles bronze medallist), Bershawn Jackson (2005 world 400m hurdles champion) and Lauryn Williams (2005 world 100m champion). We have been friends for more than 10 years and what makes our friendship special is that we all get along so well and when we are together we laugh non-stop. We’ve also been on so many teams together and shared so many experiences that we’ll always have a lifetime bond.