EUGENE, Ore. — Right before Sanya Richards-Ross got into the blocks for the U.S. Olympic Trials 400-meter final, her husband — former Giants cornerback Aaron Ross — looked her in the eye and offered one vital piece of advice: execute.
Then she went out and did just that, with a world-leading time of 49.28 seconds that stamped her ticket to London.
“There’s something so special about competing in Hayward Field. You really feel the importance of the moment. I stayed focused and tried to stay with the plan,’’ Richards-Ross said. “All I kept thinking about the last 40 [meters] was I was going to have a chance to go back to my third Olympics. I’ve been dreaming about it.“My husband really balances me out. I’m really high-strung, bouncing off the walls. He just looked me in the face and said, ‘Execute.’ I thought about that before I got in the blocks and just calmed down and ran my race.’’
Richards-Ross — who also has the world’s best time this season in the 200 and will run those heats on Thursday — put that speed to good use. She let Francena McCorory take the early lead, then with 120 meters to go pulled away from the field as Dee Dee Trotter ran second (50.02) and McCorory third (50.43).
“I’m fine as long as her mind is alright. If she gets her mental game right, her execution is the key thing,’’ said Ross, who won two Super Bowls with Big Blue and now is with the Jaguars. “If she goes on the racetrack and is executing all three points [in the race] and of course having her mind right, I’m never nervous as long as she believes she can win.’’
LaShawn Merritt won the men’s 400 in a world-leading 44.12 ahead of Tony McQuay (44.49) and Bryshon Nellum (44.80), who survived several gunshot wounds in 2008.
Rochester’s Jennifer Suhr won the pole vault at 15-1. NYAC’s Reese Hoffa, Ryan Whiting and Christian Cantwell made the team in the shot put. Stephanie Brown Trafton, Aretha Thurmond and Suzy Powell-Roos qualified in the women’s discus.
brian.lewis@nypost.com
Follow @NYP_Sports
Sanya Richards-Ross, Aaron Ross, U.S. Olympic Trials, Richards-Ross, EUGENE, Ore., Dee Dee Trotter, Jennifer Suhr, Christian Cantwell
No comments:
Post a Comment