News & Notes, Volume 8, Number 39

Richards holds off on start of season

IAAF World Athlete of the Year and 2006 Jesse Owens Award winner Sanya Richards has delayed the start of her 2007 season in order to fully recover from a virus, she announced Tuesday.

Richards, who went undefeated in the 400 meters in 2006, has withdrawn from three early-season meets - the Michael Johnson Invitational, Penn Relays and the upcoming Jamaica Invitational - as she has battled illness this spring. She is on the mend and plans to return to competition as soon as she is fit, according to her mother and agent, Sharon Richards.

"Sanya has been ailing on and off the past few weeks," said Sharon Richards. "She's feeling better but is not yet in competition shape, due to missing training during the last three weeks. We'd rather play it safe than push it, with all that is at stake this season. She is eager to get back on the track and we hope to return to competition as soon as possible, so she can prepare for the World Championships."

"I can't wait to start competing again," Sanya Richards said. "I'm hungrier than ever to win my first world title and to continue to lower the American record."

For a biography of Sanya Richards, visit http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Richards_Sanya.asp