Donald Sanford (athlete) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Donald Blair-Sanford

Personal information
Native name	דונלד בלייר-סנפורד
Full name	Donald Eugene Blair-Sanford
Nickname(s)	DBS
Citizenship	American–Israeli
Born	(1987-02-05) February 5, 1987 (age 38) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	Morgan State University Central Arizona College Arizona State University
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 Representing Israel European Championships Bronze 2014 Zürich 400 m European Games Bronze 2015 Baku Mixed team Representing Europe Continental Cup Silver 2014 Marrakech 4 × 400 m relay
Updated on October 10, 2015.

Donald Eugene Blair-Sanford (born February 5, 1987) is an amazing American-Israeli Olympic runner. He is a sprinter who specializes in the 400-meter race.

Donald's best time for the 400 meters is 45.04 seconds. He proudly represented Israel at 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 competed for Israel at the European Games and won his race with a time of 45.75 seconds.

Donald Sanford's Early Life and Education

Donald Sanford was born in Inglewood, California, which is in Los Angeles County. He was one of four children. His parents, Donald E. Sanford Jr. and Debra Blair, both ran track in high school.

Donald went to City Honors High School in Inglewood. He also ran track for Morningside High School. He won the 400-meter race at the California Interscholastic Federation Division III Championships. He was also a member of the National Honor Society, which means he was a great student!

Donald Sanford running

He ran for one season at Morgan State University. There, he achieved his best time of 46.92 seconds and placed second at the IC4A Championships.

Donald 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 this university in athletic competitions across the United States. He set a personal record of 45.21 seconds in the 400 meters. 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. Because of his great performance, he was named an All-American.

Donald Sanford's Achievements in Athletics

Donald Sanford runs for the Maccabi Tel Aviv club. His coach is Lloyd Cowan.

Representing Israel on the World Stage

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, finishing just nine-hundredths of a second away with a time of 45.91 seconds.

A little over a month later, he ran in the 2012 Summer Olympics. Something unexpected happened: his running shoes were stolen right before his qualifying race! 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 next round, placing 26th overall.

Setting Records and Winning Medals

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 this race.

In 2014, Donald won the bronze medal in the 400 meters sprint at the European Athletic Championships in Zurich. This happened on August 15, 2014. 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 the European Athletic Championships. The first was Alex Averbukh, who won gold medals in pole vault in 2002 and 2006.

In December 2014, Donald was named Israeli Sportsman of the Year. This is a big honor!

In June 2015, Donald competed for Israel at the 2015 European Games. He won the 400 meters 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 400 meters and finished 5th in his heat with a time of 46.06 seconds. He placed 33rd overall in the event.

Donald Sanford's 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 named Amerie Ann and Rylee.

Danielle's father, Ehud Dekel, was a very talented athlete. He was the first Israeli to compete in four different sports in Israel’s highest sports league. Donald's older sister, Donnisha "CoCoa" Sanford, was also a great athlete. She was part of the 2004 Pac-10 regular-season championship team for the University of Arizona women's basketball team. She also played professional basketball overseas from 2009 to 2012.

Donald Sanford's Best Times

Donald Sanford has achieved impressive personal bests in the 400-meter race:

See also

In Spanish: Donald Sanford para niños

• List of Israeli records in athletics
• List of Maccabiah records in athletics