Citizenship American–Israeli Name Donald Sanford Height 1.95 m Ex-spouse Danielle Dekel | Nickname(s) Don Country Israel Role Olympic athlete Weight 80 kg Children Amy Sanford | |
 | ||
Alma mater Morgan State UniversityCentral Arizona CollegeArizona State University Parents Donald Sanford Jnr., Debra Blair | ||
Donald Eugene Sanford (also "Donald Blair-Sanford"; born February 5, 1987) is an American–Israeli Olympic sprinter, who specialises in the 400 metre dash.
Contents
His personal record at 400 metres is 45.21 seconds. He represented Israel in the 2012 Summer Olympics. He won the bronze medal in 400 metres at the 2014 European Athletics Championships, with a new Israeli record of 45.27 seconds. Competing for Israel at the 2015 European Games, Sanford won with a time of 45.75.
Early life
Sanford was born, one of four children, in Inglewood in Los Angeles County, California, to Donald E. Sanford Jr. and Debra Blair. He attended City Honors High School in Inglewood. He won the 400m dash at the California Interscholastic Federation Division III Championships, and was a member of the National Honor Society.
He competed for one season at Morgan State University, running a season-best time of 46.92 to place second at the IC4A Championships.
He became an Israeli citizen after marrying Israeli basketball player Danielle Dekel, whom he met when they were both students at Central Arizona College where she was playing basketball for the school. He earned an Associate degree at Central Arizona in 2007, where he ran on two NJCAA Outdoor Championship teams (in 2006 and 2007).
He also studied at Arizona State University, which he represented in athletic competitions within the United States, and set his 400m personal record of 45.21 seconds. He was the 2010 NCAA runner-up at 400 meters and was part of the 4×400-meter indoor and outdoor relays that season, and was named an All-American.
Achievements
Sanford's club is Maccabi Tel Aviv, and he is coached by Trevor Green and Igor Balon.
In 2012, Sanford represented Israel for the first time at a major sporting event, finishing 4th at the European Athletic Championships, held in Helsinki, nine-hundredths of a second away from a medal at 45.91 seconds.
A little over a month later, he ran in the 2012 Summer Olympics. His shoes were stolen from his bag just ahead of his qualifying heat, and he had to run in a teammate's shoes. He finished fifth in a time of 45.71 seconds, in a race won by double-amputee South African Oscar Pistorius, and did not make it out of the qualifying rounds. He was ranked 26th, two places and one-tenth of a second behind the runners who qualified for the semifinals.
In 2014, Sanford won the bronze medal in the 400 metres sprint at the European Athletic Championships held in Zurich on August 15, 2014, with a new Israeli record of 45.27 seconds. He dedicated his medal to the Israel Defense Forces. He was the second Israeli to win a medal at the European Athletic Championships, after Alex Averbukh won gold medals in the pole vault in 2002 and 2006.
In December 2014, he was named Israeli Sportsman of the Year.
In June 2015, competing for Israel at the 2015 European Games, Sanford won the 400 m in 45.75, a European Games record, as Team Israel won a bronze medal.
Personal
Sanford and his wife married in 2008, and live in Kibbutz Ein Shemer with their daughter Amy.