U.S. Olympic sprinter Sanya Richards-Ross is opening up about her painful decision to get an abortion just one day before flying to Beijing for the 2008 Olympic Games.
The athlete shares her story in “Chasing Grace: What the Quarter Mile Has Taught Me About God and Life,” out today (June 6) from HarperCollins. The 32-year-old wrote honestly about having an abortion when she was dating her then-fiance and now husband, former New York Giants cornerback Aaron Ross.
Richards-Ross said they decided to terminate the pregnancy during a phone call.
The culmination of a lifetime of work was right before me,” she wrote in the book. “In that moment, it seemed like no choice at all. The debate of when life begins swirled through my head, and the veil of a child out of wedlock at the prime of my career seemed unbearable. What would my sponsors, my family, my church, and my fans think of me?”
Richards-Ross went on to earn a bronze medal in the 400M that year in Beijing, and a gold medal as part of the 4×400 relay team.
“Chasing Grace” also features Sanya’s take on firing her agent Renaldo Nehemiah — a former world-class athlete himself — lessons from her father and more. The hardcover edition hits the street today (June 6, 2017).