EUGENE, Ore. — Sanya Richards-Ross felt a stab of pain in her hamstring as she hit the curve in the third heat of the women’s 400 meters, and she knew it was over.
“No Rio,” she thought. “No Rio.”
The final race of her medal-winning career ended without Ross even crossing the finish line: She pulled up short and didn’t complete the 400 at the U.S. Olympic trials on Friday, an event she dominated on the national and international stage for the better part of a decade.
That means no spot on the U.S. team at the Rio Games, robbing the 31-year-old of the chance to defend her gold medal from London; she also took bronze in the 2008 Beijing Games, and was part of the gold-winning 4x400 relay in London, Beijing and the 2004 Athens Games. In total, Richards-Ross won 14 medals in Olympic and World Championships competition.
In the end, a series of injuries and ailments proved too much to overcome. There was the longstanding issue with her toe, which flamed up again in November. Her hamstring injury is more recent, flaring up less than three weeks ago and leading Richards-Ross and her training team to embark on a fast-paced recovery regimen.
“As athletes, you’re always uber-optimistic,” Richards-Ross said. “I just thought, I’ve run 48 (seconds) before, if I can just pull out a 51 today I can make it through.
“That’s the toughest part for an athlete. You really want to go to the Olympics. No matter how banged up you are, you still think it’s possible. I just thought, ‘Man, this is really the end for me.’ I wanted the chance to compete in Rio. So that was the toughest part.”
Yet there was no anger at the thought of her career coming to an end, nor a sense of irritation at having her Olympic try stymied by a lingering injury — there was merely a sense of closure, as Richards-Ross focused on the path of a career that began more than a decade ago on the campus of the University of Texas.
In fact, she called the race “perfect,” citing her connection to Hayward Field, where she holds the stadium record in the 400, and the ovation given by a crowd aware of the curtain closing on her career.
“I think most fans have seen my heart through my running," she said. "Because I don’t win every time I step on the track. So I don’t deserve the ovation because I’m always a champion. I think they just see my heart and my determination.”
Besides, she added, her career — in her own mind — was never defined by success. It was defined by temporary failures followed by comebacks, as when she followed up her bronze in Beijing by winning gold four years later, or when she regained her earlier form after an injury-hampered 2010 season.
“I think I grew a lot in this sport,” she said. “My lows have been just as special as my highs. They taught me a lot about myself. It made me a better person. I think people can relate to the up and downs that you have in life.”
For the U.S. team, the mantle in the 400 now passes to Allyson Felix, Francena McCorory, Phyllis Francis, Natasha Hastings and Courtney Okolo, the reigning NCAA champ and top qualifier, who all breezed into Saturday’s semifinals; the 400 final will be held on Sunday.
“I’ve been so blessed,” Richards-Ross said. “So I can’t cry. Can’t complain. Just want to keep my head up. I’m going to definitely miss it. But I’m proud of all that I’ve accomplished and I’m in a great place right now. So I’m going to enjoy this moment and take whatever comes as it comes.”
