Paris 2024 Olympics: American icon Sanya Richards-Ross sends motivational message to athletes at the ongoing games

Paris 2024 Olympics: American icon Sanya Richards-Ross sends motivational message to athletes at the ongoing games

Mark Kinyanjui 14:00 - 04.08.2024

The four-time Olympic champion has sent athletes competing at the ongoing Paris 2024 games advice on how to go about their business.

As the Paris 2024 Olympics continue to captivate the world, former American sprinter and four-time Olympic champion Sanya Richards-Ross has shared valuable advice with the athletes competing in this prestigious event. 

Known for her own remarkable achievements on the track, Richards-Ross has expressed her admiration for this year’s Team USA, calling it one of the best she has seen, with a blend of both young and experienced athletes ready to take on their rivals across various disciplines.

With some events already concluded and a week remaining for Team USA to secure as many medals as possible, Richards-Ross has sent a motivational message not only to her fellow Americans but to athletes from around the world.

“This is an Olympic year and a very big year but you want to do the same things that brought you there. You do not want to make too many changes, you just want to do the same things and trust the process,” Richards-Ross advised during an interview with Ulnterview. “You just want to go out there and have fun.”

The return of spectators for the Paris 2024 Olympics, after the absence of fans during the Tokyo 2020 Games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, is something Richards-Ross believes is significantly boosting the athletes’ performances.

“That was missing in 2020 and I felt really bad because I feel that is a very big part of the Olympics experience: Getting to run in front of tens of thousands of people in these beautiful cities,” she reflected.

 “To bring it back now and to be in Paris, one of the most iconic cities in the world, where Team USA is so strong all around, especially in track and field, I am sure it is going to be a very iconic Olympics for the fans.”

Richards-Ross’s career is decorated with accolades, including becoming the second American woman to win the 400 meters at the Olympic Games and the first American woman to earn multiple global 400m titles in 2012. Her dominance in the 400m, particularly from 2005 to 2009 and again in 2012, saw her consistently ranked as one of the world’s top sprinters.

Her outstanding achievements were recognized when she was named the IAAF Female World Athlete of the Year in 2006 and again in 2009. Richards-Ross also holds the record for the most sub-50-second sprints in the history of the 400m, achieving this feat an incredible 49 times throughout her illustrious career.

Following her retirement from competitive athletics in 2016 due to an injury at the US Olympic trials, Richards-Ross transitioned into broadcasting, joining NBC as a track and field analyst. Despite no longer competing, her influence and advice continue to resonate, offering inspiration to a new generation of athletes striving for Olympic glory.

Tags: