Perhaps best known for her 400m silver medal at the 2007 World Championships in Osaka, Sanders has struggled in recent seasons and has revealed she is ready to hang up her spikes aged 32.
A talented 400m hurdler, the Windsor Slough Eton & Hounslow athlete made a change over to the 400m flat in 2006 with instant success, winning national titles both indoor and outdoor and making the European final in Gothenburg.
It was 2007 that was probably Sanders’ best year, setting the UK indoor record of 50.02, whilst winning the European Indoor Champs on home soil. This was followed outdoors by a successful trip to Osaka for the World Championships, where Sanders achieved a silver in the individual and a relay bronze, twice dipping under 50seconds and running a 48.7 anchor leg.
The Tony Lester-coached athlete had a low-key 2013, racing at 800m, but has told Athletics Weekly ‘I haven’t really competed over the last couple of years and even before that I was struggling with various injuries that stopped me performing at the level I could. With all that going on in your head you can’t really face going through all the training not being able to compete anymore.’
In the near future, Sanders looks to expand her personal training and work for Sky Sports Living for Sport scheme, an initiative that uses sport stars to visit schools to inspire and improve life skills.
