Sanya Richards-Ross To Be Inducted in Texas Sports Hall of Fame
The numbers don’t lie. With 11 All-American titles, three NCAA championships, and four Olympic gold medals to her name, former Longhorn sprinter Sanya Richards-Ross, ’04, is all-too deserving of her latest accolade: a spot in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame.
Richards-Ross joins eight others in the Texas Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2014, including fellow Texas Ex and former Detroit Lions defensive tackle Doug English, BA ’76. She was a standout member of UT’s women’s track and field team from 2003-04, where she helped bring home five national championships in just two years.
In 2005, Richards-Ross made history by becoming the youngest woman ever to run 400 meters in under 49 seconds in Zurich. Just a year later, she went on to beat her previous time—and set an American record—at the IAAF World Cup in Athens.
The 2010 Outstanding Young Texas Ex award-winner now even has her own We TV reality show, Glam & Gold, which stars her and her husband, fellow Longhorn and two-time Super Bowl champion Aaron Ross, ’06.
As keynote speaker at UT’s 130th Commencement this past May, Richards-Ross shared one of her sources of motivation with the 2013 graduating class.
“In our weight room it says, ‘The winning tradition of the Texas Longhorns will not be entrusted to the weak or timid,’” Richards-Ross told the crowd. “I would dare say that isn’t just a slogan used to motivate athletes—it’s a slogan that truly represents the spirit of all Longhorns.”
Richards-Ross and English will be inducted in the Hall of Fame at a ceremony on Feb. 24 in Waco. They’ll be joined by former NBA All-Star Larry Johnson; former NFL offensive tackle Charlie Krueger; former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Dat Nguyen; former Texas Rangers catcher Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez; former running back Thurman Thomas; and former Houston Oilers quarterback Don Trull.
Photo by Marsha Miller
