Félix Sánchez (hurdler)

thumb|Félix Sánchez in 2012 Félix Sánchez (born August 30, 1977) is a retired Dominican-American track and field athlete. Specializing in the 400 meter hurdles, He is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, winning gold in 2004 and 2012, and was also World Champion in 2001 and 2003. Just before turning 36, he set the Masters M35 World Record with a time of 48.10. Sanchez acquired many nicknames: "Super Felix", "the Invincible", "Superman", and "the Dictator". Quotes "When I am 100% fit, the story will be different" (2005) Sanchez - "When I am 100% fit, the story will be different", World Athletics (October 24, 2005) They have just built a new nine-lane Mondo track and that’s where we will train. I never run for third. I always run to win. I lost about five weeks of training in less than three months before Helsinki. I have been injured before, but not that late in the season. Yet, I managed to run 48.24 with one leg. I wore different spikes in the final hoping to resist the pain. I could have run like I did in the semifinal and opt for the bronze with 47.90 or so. But I never run for third. I always run to win. I talked to (2005 World champion) Bershawn Jackson after the final and he told me he was ready. But when I am 100% fit, the story will be different. They beat me, but I want to get the World title back and prove I am the best 400m hurdler nowadays. This year was not my time, I don’t want to say it was bad luck. I believe in God and things happen for on reason. I am truly looking forward to the 2006 season. You need rivals to keep going. We now have around 10 men who are running very fast. It is more difficult to dominate the event now. Edwin Moses stayed undefeated for 10 years and nobody can take that away from him, but back then there were only three men running less than 48 seconds. I want to prove that a Latino can also be the best of all times. Jackson has a lot of confidence and no one compares to him. We all train, but confidence is the best aspect of an athlete. If you think nobody can beat you, then you become a very tough contender. Before 2005, the event was less competitive. We now see four or five athletes and at least three of us can run under 47 seconds. Only Kevin Young has broken that barrier. We can all push each other and improve the calibre of the event. That’s what the crowd wants to see. You don’t want to go to a track meet knowing beforehand who will win, it’s like the 110m Hurdles” in terms of competitiveness. I don’t think I have to change my running technique that much, except the last two hurdles, where I should run 14 steps instead of 15. we have athletes in Latin America. Not all of us can excel in baseball and I want to say to those living in the US to support their roots, not forget where you come from, and compete for your country of origin. "Felix Sanchez: The boy who started late, but bloomed into an Olympic great" (2013) "Felix Sanchez: The boy who started late, but bloomed into an Olympic great", SPORTS 360 (December 04, 2013) Most Dominican boys dream of being a baseball player and I was no different, I played baseball from six years old until 15. In my first year at high school, my friends and I chose to do some wrestling, just so we had a sport in the fall while we waited for the baseball season to come around. At the end of December I broke my wrist and wasn’t able to try out for the team. As a joke the athletics coach said, ‘you can run with a broken wrist’. I was always the fastest on the baseball team, but ironically I wasn’t the fastest when I ran my first race, I got beat by a few people including a girl sprinter who was faster than me. I’m just so competitive that I had to improve, The next year instead of going back to baseball, I wanted to prove I could do it in track and field. I trained harder, studied the sport, started hurdling and all the bits and pieces came together, getting me more interested in it. I fell in love with it and never went back. It’s definitely a good thing I broke my wrist otherwise I wouldn’t be sitting here It helped that no one came into the field, in the way that someone like Usain Bolt did, coming in and demolishing everyone. Champions were changing every year and no one was running particularly fast so I figured I can still compete with these guys. Every year that went badly there was always a reason, an injury, being out of shape, there was always an excuse to keep me thinking, ‘well next year, if this and that don’t happen then I’ll be back to where I was. Track and field is all about confidence, it has to do with talent too, but so much relies on confidence. You have to go into a race knowing you can execute and that you’re not second guessing yourself. Finally, coming into 2012 I had a good 2011 and I thought this is the year to find out if I’ve been fooling myself or whether age and injury have got the better of me. That’s always in the back of your mind, especially in my event when the previous oldest gold medalist was 29. You think is this the year I start declining, losing a stop, should I just retire? All those little things in your mind you have to forget, keep looking forward and aim to be the best. Fortunately, it panned out. Very similar to Athens, almost to the letter. I showed up late, I didn’t go the opening ceremony and I turned up three days before the opening round. It was just a kind of go to work and be done with it mentality. Because athletics comes right at the end of the Games, there wasn’t much to do after I ran. I went there for one purpose, trained once, maybe twice on the warm-up track, just rested and waited for the first round. I think one of the reasons I have made so many finals is because I don’t see it as a three-day competition, I take it one day at a time. I just look at who I’m competing against on that day, try to take them out, then move on to the next day and see who you’re competing against there. Absolutely people let themselves down by hanging round the Olympic village, You go round there two weeks before, I don’t see the purpose. If you need to go there and focus, you’re in the wrong business. External links Category:Olympic gold medalists Category:Track and field athletes Category:Sportspeople from the United States Category:Hispanic Americans Category:People from New York City Category:1977 births Category:Living people