Donald Sanford (athlete) facts for kids
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Donald Eugene Blair-Sanford | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | DBS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Citizenship | American–Israeli | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | February 5, 1987 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 80 kg (180 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Danielle Dekel | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Israel |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | 400m | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Maccabi Tel Aviv | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Lloyd Cowan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal best(s) | 400m; 45.04 seconds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Medal record
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on October 10, 2015. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Donald Eugene Blair-Sanford (Hebrew: דונלד יוג'ין בלייר-סנפורד) was born on February 5, 1987. He is an American-Israeli Olympic sprinter. He is best known for competing in the 400 metre dash race.
Donald's fastest time in the 400 meters is 45.04 seconds. He proudly represented Israel in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He also won a bronze medal in the 400 meters at the 2014 European Athletics Championships. This win set a new Israeli record of 45.27 seconds. In 2015, he won the 400m race at the 2015 European Games while competing for Israel.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Donald Sanford was born in Inglewood, California. He was one of four children. His parents, Donald E. Sanford Jr. and Debra Blair, both ran track in high school.
He went to City Honors High School but competed in track for Morningside High School. He won the 400m dash at the California Interscholastic Federation Division III Championships. He was also a member of the National Honor Society.
Donald competed for one season at Morgan State University. He ran his best time of 46.92 seconds there, placing second at the IC4A Championships.
He became an Israeli citizen after marrying Israeli basketball player Danielle Dekel. They met when they were both students at Central Arizona College. Danielle played basketball for the school. Donald earned an associate degree from Central Arizona in 2007. While there, he was part of two NJCAA Outdoor Championship teams in 2006 and 2007.
He also studied at Arizona State University. He represented the university in athletic competitions across the United States. During this time, he set his 400m personal record of 45.21 seconds. In 2010, he was the NCAA runner-up in the 400 meters. He was also part of the 4×400-meter indoor and outdoor relay teams that season. He was recognized as an All-American athlete.
Sports Achievements
Donald Sanford is a member of the Maccabi Tel Aviv club. His coach is Lloyd Cowan.
First Major Competitions
In 2012, Donald represented Israel for the first time at a big sports event. He finished 4th at the European Athletic Championships in Helsinki. He was very close to winning a medal, missing it by just nine-hundredths of a second.
A little over a month later, he competed in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Before his qualifying race, his running shoes were stolen from his bag. He had to run in a teammate's shoes. He finished fifth in his race with a time of 45.71 seconds. He did not make it to the semifinals. He was ranked 26th overall.
Maccabiah Games and European Championships
At the 2013 Maccabiah Games, Donald broke the Israeli record. He won the gold medal in the 400-meter race with a time of 45.65 seconds. He beat Australian Olympic finalist Steven Solomon.
In 2014, Donald won the bronze medal in the 400 meters sprint. This was at the European Athletic Championships in Zurich. He set a new Israeli record of 45.27 seconds. He dedicated his medal to the Israel Defense Forces. He was only the second Israeli to win a medal at these championships. Alex Averbukh had won gold medals in pole vault in 2002 and 2006.
In December 2014, Donald was named Israeli Sportsman of the Year.
European Games and Later Olympics
In June 2015, Donald competed for Israel at the 2015 European Games. He won the 400m race in 45.75 seconds. This was a new European Games record. His team, Team Israel, also won a bronze medal.
Donald competed for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He ran the 400m race. He finished 5th in his heat with a time of 46.06 seconds. He placed 33rd overall in the competition.
Personal Life
Donald Sanford and his wife, Danielle Dekel-Sanford, got married in 2008. Danielle is from Israel. They live in Kibbutz Ein Shemer, which is about an hour north of Tel Aviv. They have two children, Amerie Ann and Rylee.
Danielle's father, Ehud Dekel, was the first Israeli to play four different sports in Israel’s highest sports league. Donald's older sister, Donnisha "CoCoa" Sanford, was on the 2004 Pac-10 championship team for the University of Arizona women's basketball team. She also played professional basketball overseas from 2009 to 2012.
Personal Best Times
Donald Sanford has achieved impressive times in the 400m race:
| Distance | Time | Place | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| 400m | 45.21 sec | Eugene, Oregon | June 13, 2010 |
| 400m | 45.27 sec | Zürich, Switzerland | August 15, 2014 |
| 400m | 45.04 sec | Meteor Stadium, Zhukovsky | July 19, 2015 |
See also
- List of Israeli records in athletics
- List of Maccabiah records in athletics
