Richards-Ross finally grasps her elusive gold

LONDON — Sanya Richards-Ross delayed her 400-meter victory celebration for a few moments, glancing anxiously at the super-sized results board at Olympic Stadium. She wanted to be certain of the official order of finish. Down the final stretch, Richards-Ross felt US teammate DeeDee Trotter close on her left, but didn’t sense the approach of defending Olympic champion Christine Ohuruogu on her right. Cheered lustily by a home crowd of 80,000, Britain’s Ohuruogu accelerated toward the line, but fell just short of repeating.

The official results revealed Richards-Ross in first with a time of 49.55 seconds, earning the first US gold of the track and field competition. Ohuruogu captured silver in 49.70 and Trotter took bronze in 49.72.

“I was almost 100 percent sure I had it,” said Richards-Ross. “But you never want to celebrate until you see your name on top of that list. So, to finally have that moment and see my name at the top at the Olympic Games, it’s really hard to describe that feeling. I was just overwhelmed.”

Waiting a few moments for confirmation was easy. Waiting four years for another chance at individual Olympic gold was the hard part.

Richards-Ross entered the Beijing Olympics as the overwhelming 400-meter favorite, but faded from first to third over the final stretch. The shock and disappointment of a bronze medal left her in tears at the Bird’s Nest. On Sunday night, Ross again looked in danger of squandering gold with a less-than-perfect race. Of the eight runners in the field, she went out the fastest, and sat in third approaching the final straight. Then, Richard-Ross summoned a decisive burst of speed for the win.

In her postrace news conference, Richards-Ross, 27, commented that the 400 final went as well as she could have hoped, though she admitted not hitting her splits right. Between what happened in Beijing and an Olympic Stadium in London buzzing in anticipation of the men’s 100-meter final, she said it was “really difficult to come out here and control your emotions and your desire when you want something so badly.”

In the four years between Beijing and London, she stayed among the world’s fastest 400-meter runners, winning the 2009 world championship. All the while waiting impatiently for another shot at gold. She also has dealt with a misdiagnosis of the autoimmune disease called Behcet’s syndrome. She is handling an illness that results in fatigue and mouth sores differently now, and feels healthier.

“In 2008, what I learned is you don’t win the race until you win the race,” said Richards-Ross.

“That was Christine’s title in 2008. It took me some time to get past that. This time, when I went on the track, I knew I had to cross that finish line first to call myself Olympic champion. I had to dig really deep to do that tonight. I’m so grateful to have this experience. It’s just been a phenomenal ride. There’s been some difficulties. You have to overcome so much in four years to get this opportunity.”