Felix Sanchez, the Dominican Republic’s 2000 Athlete of the Year, has won a gold medal in the 400m hurdles at the Edmonton, Canada World Athletics Championship. He clocked in at 47.49 seconds, a personal best. His time was the world’s best this year and the 10th best in history. This is the first medal ever won by a Dominican in a track & field world championship. Sanchez is in Santo Domingo to celebrate his win. He dedicated the win to his father and to the Dominican Republic. Sanchez, born in New York City of Dominican parents, says he is a product of the US system but feels the DR needs him more so he chose to compete for the DR instead of the US. Sanchez is a psychology graduate from USC. He was raised by his grandmother in San Diego, California. Overall, he has lived less than five years in the DR, but keeps strong ties to the DR. He will meet with President Hipolito Mejia today in Santo Domingo. From the DR, he will travel to Zurich and London for competitions. Next on his agenda are the Good Will Games in Australia and a meet on 15 September in Japan. For more information on his win at the World Championships, see the San Diego Union-Tribune: http://www.uniontrib.com/sports/20010811-9999_1s11track.html Los Angeles Times: http://latimes.com/sports/la-000065123aug11.story BBC sports report: http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport/hi/english/in_depth/2001/world_athletics/newsid_1485000/1485415.stm
