16 July 2002There had been a lot of talking about her before the start of these World Junior Championships. People were speculating on how fast she runs, how powerful she is and how she decided to compete for the US team despite being born in Jamaica.
“I am very happy to compete here in Kingston. I could hear the crowd cheering for me during my race and it felt good. All my family is in the stands, my mother and all of them”, says an amazingly relaxed Richards waving towards the US supporters.
Sanya attracted international attention when she finished second at the Prefontaine Classic meeting in Eugene last 26 May. She subsequently sprinted to an impressive double at the US Junior Championships in Stanford where she broke the American junior record in the 400m with 50.69. She also took the 200m title clocking 23.31 into a 3.5m/s head wind.
“I feel very strong this year,” explained Sanya to the journalists who had gathered to interview her. “I am prepared to run very fast.”
And indeed Sanya remarkably won her heat more than a second faster than second place finisher Lisa Miller of Great Britain.
Running in lane two with all her competitors in front of her, Sanya took the best start and ran a fast initial bend. She then slowed down in the back straight and final bend fully in control of the race in the last 100 metres.
“It was a pretty easy race today, I am now looking forward to running the semi final.”
Sanya Richards who will attend the University of Texas this fall, was born in Jamaica and only moved to the United States five years ago.
It was Monique Henderson who clocked the fastest time of the 400m heats though. A time she curiously didn’t expect today.
“There was a misunderstanding today, I didn’t know I was going to run until 2pm this afternoon” – she actually competed at 4.15pm.- “ I had a huge lunch, which I shouldn’t have, and just feel like cooling down now”, said Monique after her race.
A member of the Sydney Olympic Games US team Henderson was deprived of her American record by Richards at the US junior championships. A race in which she lost her American record and finished second in 51.52, still the third fastest performance in the world junior all time lists.
Winner of heat 2 in 52.81, Monique impressed with her long and smooth stride,a completely different style from Sanya who looked far more powerful.
A clash of running styles between the prima donnas of the US junior team could well result in a new American junior record. Both teenagers seem capable of improving on their respective personal bests. It is now just a matter of who will cross the line first when they will line-up for the final on Thursday night.
