LONDON — Disappointment, tears and that oh-so-unsatisfying color — bronze — are all in the past for Sanya Richards-Ross.
On this trip to the Olympics, she closed the deal.
Four years after a late fade left her crying and wearing the Olympic bronze medal, Richards-Ross won the 400-meter gold she always thought she could.
Aaron Ross has celebrated two Super Bowl victories. His wife, Sanya Richards-Ross, won her own NFL title in the form of a gold medal in the 400, writes Jim Caple.
“What I have learned is you don’t win the race until you win the race,” Richards-Ross said. “I knew I had to cross the finish line first to call myself the Olympic champion.”
Nearly banging elbows with runners on both sides of her — and with the defending champion making up ground on the outside — Richards-Ross got stronger, not weaker, this time over the last 100 meters.
She surged to the finish, won by about a body’s length and punched her fist when she crossed the line in 49.55 seconds Sunday night to give the U.S. its first track and field gold medal of the London Olympics.
“I just kept saying, ‘You can do this, you can do this,’” Richards-Ross said. “I just dug really deep and I’m very happy.”
Defending champion Christine Ohuruogu of Britain finished second in 49.70 and American DeeDee Trotter, decked out in red, white and blue glitter on her face, won the bronze in 49.72.
This moment, though, belonged to Richards-Ross, whose parents relocated from her home country of Jamaica when she was 12, in part to advance what looked like a promising running career.
At the end, she wrapped herself in the American flag and went to the stands to embrace her husband, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive back Aaron Ross, who took time off from NFL training camp to travel to London.
“You finally did it, you finally did it, babe,” he told his wife. “Enjoy the moment.”
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