Introducing Atlanta’s newest peach-holder: Sanya Richards-Ross! Sanya, a 36-year-old former Olympic athlete who was born in Jamaica, has joined season 14 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta, Variety reported on Oct. 25. Sanya will be joined by Kandi Burrus, Kenya Moore, Drew Sidora, Sheree Whitfield, and Marlo Hampton. The five other ladies have been on the show before in some capacity, so only Sanya will be a completely new entity to Bravo fans once RHOA returns in 2022. So with that being said, let’s meet our newest Atlanta Housewife!
1. Sanya is a former track and field athlete.
Sanya is well-known in the sports world as a track and field legend in the 400-meter sprint. She started running at age 7 and competed at St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and at the University of Texas in Austin. While in college, she claimed her first senior national title at the 2003 U.S. National Championships and qualified for the 2003 Paris World Championships. In total, Sanya has five gold medals and two silver medals from World Championships and three gold medals from World Relays. She also competed in the Olympics…which we’ll get to in a bit.
Just before the 2015 U.S. National Championship, Sanya injured her calf muscle. After she hurt her right hamstring at the 2016 Olympic Trials, she decided to officially retire from track and field. However, she kept up with the sport as an analyst for NBC, where she covered the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.
2. She’s won gold at the Olympics.
During Sanya’s incredible track and field career, she reached the Summer Olympics three different times. At the 2004 Athens Games, she and her U.S. teammates won gold in the 4 x 400 meters relay. Sanya and her fellow athletes won gold in that same race again at the 2008 Beijing Games and at the 2012 London Games. She also won her first individual Olympic gold medal at London in the 400 meter race. In addition to her gold medals, Sanya has a bronze medal from the 400 meter race at the 2008 Games.
3. She had her own reality show.
RHOA will not be Sanya’s first time on reality television. In 2013, she starred in the WE tv reality series Glam and Gold, which followed Sanya juggling her at-home life with her family and track and field. The series mostly filmed at Sanya’s home in Austin, though some scenes were also shot in Florida, New York, and her native Jamaica. The show aired for six episodes and only 1 season.
4. She wrote a memoir.
Sanya shared a lot about her personal life in her 2017 memoir, Chasing Grace: What the Quarter Mile Taught Me About God and Life. In the book, Sanya revealed that she got an abortion just one day before leaving for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, where she failed to win gold in the individual race. Per reports, she wrote in the memoir, “I made a decision that broke me, and one from which I would not immediately heal from. Abortion would not forever be a part of my life. A scarlet letter I never thought I’d wear.”
5. She adores her family.
Sanya has such a wonderful life at home. She has been married to former New York Giants player Aaron Ross since 2010. The two actually met in college at UT, and their wedding was featured on an episode of WE tv’s Platinum Weddings. The couple’s son Aaron Jermaine Ross II was born in 2017.
Sanya often shares documents special moments with her family on her social media pages. And now that she’s an Atlanta Housewife, Bravo fans will get to see all that goes on in her life on the TV screen soon!