September 10, 2004
Olympic Gold Medalist Richards Does Not Plan to Rest on Her Laurels

	Also See Meet a Longhorn: Sanya Richards Richards: The World Is Changing, and IT Is Leading the Way Longhorn Olympians in Action Texas Sports

Career advisors usually recommend that college students have internships during the summer, but they might have made an exception for Sanya Richards this year. Richards, a junior majoring in management information systems at the McCombs School of Business, spent the summer preparing for her first Olympics. She competed in two track and field events in Athens, and took home a gold medal for the 4x400m relay.

Since she began sprinting competitively as a child in Jamaica, Richards has racked up a string of athletic accomplishments. At the 2003 U.S. Nationals, her first appearance at a senior-level national championship, she placed first in the 400m event. And earlier this year, to give just another example, she earned a gold medal and set a collegiate record for that same event at the NCAA competition.

In winning an Olympic gold medal, Richards fulfilled one of her lifelong dreams. However, she is not planning to rest on her laurels. “My athletic goal is to become one of the most dominant sprinters in history. I want to win the upcoming World Championships and then go on to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the open 400,” she says.

In the longer term, Richards’ plans will draw more directly on her business education. “I want to be able to open up my own business,” she says. “I'm not exactly sure what it will be, but I'm trying my best to make good connections so that I'll have many doors open to me in the future.”

According to Richards, the one personality trait that carries over from sports to school is her competitive drive to always do her best. She offers the following advice for meeting tough challenges, whether you’re wearing your running shoes or your tasseled loafers: “My best advice is to always believe in the work that you've put in. I believe that training and studying is the hard part, actually competing or taking the test is the easy part.”

While Richards was the only current BBA student to compete in Athens, two recent McCombs alumni also took home medals from the games. Vera Ilyina, a Russian diver and BBA ‘99, took home a silver medal for the women’s 3m synchronized springboard. Nate Dusing, BBA ‘02, earned a bronze swimming the men’s 4x100m relay.