Ath: Richards seeking Olympic triumph after sickness hell

AAP General News (Australia)
08-15-2008
Ath: Richards seeking Olympic triumph after sickness hell

By Pirate Irwin

BEIJING, Aug 15 AFP - Sanya Richards has been through hell the past year and here at
the Olympic Games she is hoping for the equivalent of athletes' heaven with the 400m gold
medal.

The 23-year-old Jamaican-born runner has not only had to battle on the track but has
also had to fight the debilitating and rare Behcets disease, which cost her a place in
the 400m individual event at last year's world championships.

"I contracted it last March," said Richards, who is coached by Michael Johnson's former
handler Clyde Hart.

"It appeared to be a flu-like bug and I wasn't too worried.

"I went to a doctor and he diagnosed it as just that and prescribed me antibiotics.

"However, it never went away.

"I developed mouth ulcers that were so dire that at times I couldn't eat or talk and
I would have to write notes to my coach and family in order to communicate.

"I also would wake up with lesions on my legs which felt like someone had burnt my
skin with an iron.

"It was a really trying time."

After the 2007 trials, Richards saw a doctor in New York who diagnosed Behcets.

"It was really hard and I am still battling it but now I have the right medication," she said.

"I am in a better place now but it has taken me some time.

"I have learnt so many lessons but I am going into the competition both mentally and
physically in good shape."

Richards, who moved to the US when she was 12 and was granted US citizenship in 2002,
said it had been hard to sit on the sidelines at the world championships and watch the
individual event, though she did win a relay gold.

"It (the gold medal) certainly would be a bit of redemption," admitted Richards, who
is in the same stable as Olympic 400m champion Jeremy Wariner.

"I didn't make the team for the world championships but that was out of my control
and I had to watch from the sidelines.

"This is more personal. I am not gunning for my rivals, this is for my family," added
Richards, who will have no less than 21 of her blood relatives in the stands watching
her from tomorrow onwards.

She is also desperate to make up for her first appearance at the Olympics where as
a raw 19-year-old she finished sixth in the final.

"Of course I was very disappointed to come out of the individual event without a medal,"

said Richards, who also won relay gold in Athens.

"However, I was in my sophomore year at university and I turned professional the following
year and worked harder with my coach (Hart).

"It was a great transition and it (gold) would mean so much to me because it would
mean all the sacrifices I have made have been worth it.

"Frankly it would mean the world to me."

AFP jmt

KEYWORD: OLY08 ATH RICHARDS

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