Following a "dream season", Sanya Richards, who represented Vaz Prep and Immaculate High before migrating, is looking to lower her personal record (PR) next year.

She said: "2009 was a dream season, the season I had been awaiting for a very long time. I finally won my first world title and I also won (a share of) the jackpot, so it was like my best season ever."

Looking forward to 2010, in which there will not be any major championships, Richards said: "I just want to lower my PR next season. I want to run all my events, the 100m, 200m and 400m and just see how fast I can go and continue having fun."

Richards is the American 400m record holder at 48.70. She also said she was looking forward to competing in the new Diamond League, which comprises 14 meets across Europe, Asia and the United States.

First global gold medal

Despite dominating the 400m events for years, Richards won her first global gold medal when she ran 49.00 seconds to finish ahead of Jamaican Shericka Williams at the World Championships in August in Berlin.

The American sprinter reiterated sentiments carried in this newspaper at the time, when she credited Jamaican sprint marvel, Usain Bolt, for inspiring her success. Richards said she took one lesson from Bolt, who stunned the world with world-record runs of 9.58 (100m) and 19.19 (200m), to stay relaxed and have fun.

She attributed her downfall in previous years to not handling the pressure properly.

"I put a lot of pressure on myself in the previous years to win the titles and this season I just had fun and relax.

"Usain and the rest of the Jamaican athletes showed us that you run fast when you just have fun and relax, so I took a page out of his (Bolt's) book and I was able to compete really well this season," explained Richards.