Posted: August 22, 2007

Athletics: News and Notes, Volume 8, Number 74

Vote for Sanya Richards as 2007 Sports Woman of the Year Sanya Richards has been selected as a finalist for the 2007 Sportswoman of the Year presented by the Women's Sports Foundation. Sportswoman of the Year finalists were selected based on their athletic achievements between August 1, 2006, and July 31, 2007. At just 21 years of age, Richards had one of the greatest seasons ever by an American 400-meter runner. She ran under 50 seconds nine times during the season, including breaking the American record on September 16 with her time of 48.70 at the IAAF World Cup in Athens. She easily broke Valerie Brisco's national mark of 48.83, set at the 1984 Olympic Games. All told, Richards ran the five fastest times in the world in 2006, the six fastest times by an American and 10 of the top 11 American times. She was undefeated outdoors in the 400 on the year, winning a $249,999 portion of the jackpot for sweeping the IAAF's prestigious Golden League series and taking the USA Indoor, USA Outdoor, World Athletics Final and World Cup titles. All told, she won 15 consecutive races and added the World Cup 200m crown as well. Perhaps most stunning is that many of Richards' wins in the world's most vaunted track meets came with a margin of victory of one full second. After half the 2007 Golden League season, she is one of only three athletes still in the running to win the IAAF Golden League Jackpot, having won all Golden League 400m titles to date. She also has run the fastest time in the world so far this year (49.52, July 6, Paris). Award winners will be announced on Monday, October 15, 2007, and honored at the Annual Salute to Women in Sports Awards Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The public can vote by visiting www.sportswomanvote.com. Voting will end August 31st at midnight. Masback Blog makes debut USATF CEO Craig Masback has posted his first blog on the USATF Web site, www.usatf.org. A direct communication between Masback and the track, running and race walking communities, the blog will appear regularly on the USATF Web site and will feature Masback's insights and opinions on a range of topics. His initial blog tackles the media's often distorted and outdated view of track and field. You can find his most recent blog at http://www.usatf.org/about/leadership/MasbackBlog/2007-08-20.asp. USTFCCCA announces Hall of Fame class The United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association will induct eight coaches from all three NCAA divisions into its Hall of Fame on December 18. The 2007 class includes Lew Hartzog, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale; Cyrus Jones, Lincoln University (Pennsylvania); Tom Jones, University of Florida; Beverly Kearney, University of Texas at Austin; John Mitchell, University of Georgia; Irv Mondschein, University of Pennsylvania; Jim Sackett, California Polytechnic University, Pomona; and Karl Schlademan, Michigan State University. The induction will occur during the USTFCCCA convention in Phoenix. For more information about the nominees, see USTFCCCA.org. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest