Félix Sánchez (born August 30, 1977) is a retired Dominican-American track and field athlete. Specializing in the 400 meter hurdles, He is a two-time Olympic gold medallist, winning gold in 2004 and 2012, and was also World Champion in 2001 and 2003. Just before turning 36, he set the Masters M35 World Record with a time of 48.10. Sanchez acquired many nicknames: "Super Felix", "the Invincible", "Superman", and "the Dictator".
The Félix Sánchez Olympic Stadium, Dominican Republic's largest stadium, is named after him.
Sánchez retired in April 2016, citing the recent birth of his son. He attended University City High School and San Diego Mesa College in the city, and then went on to study psychology at the University of Southern California in 1998. Competing for University of Southern California's USC Trojans, he was a Pac-10 champion (400 m hurdles) and All-American relay champion (1600 m) in 1999.
Professional career
Sánchez opted to represent the Dominican Republic internationally, and made his debut for that nation in the Pan American games in 1999. at 400 m hurdles, including the 2001 and 2003 World Championships. He won a share of the Golden League million dollar-jackpot in 2002 after winning all 7 races.
At the 2003 Pan American Games, Sánchez won the Dominican Republic's first gold medal at the competition and also broke the Pan American Games record in the 400 m hurdles. He was named Track and Field News Track & Field Athlete of the Year in 2003. Subsequently, he won the first ever Olympic gold medal for the Dominican Republic on August 28, 2004, during the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.
During his 43-race
In 2012, at the age of 34, Sánchez entered the 2012 Summer Olympics. He posted the fastest qualifying time, and won the final with a time of 47.63 seconds, the same as his winning time in Athens in 2004 and his fastest run for eight years. He was the only Olympic medalist for the Dominican Republic until 45 minutes after his second gold medal, when Luguelín Santos picked up a silver medal in the 400 metres. For his performance in London, Sanchez was awarded the Laureus World Comeback of the Year.
Sánchez announced his retirement in April 2016 at the age of 38, citing the recent birth of a son. He did not compete in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
thumb|280px|right|Sánchez at the [[2012 Summer Olympics|2012 London Olympics]]
Competition record
{|
|-
|rowspan=3|1999
|rowspan=2|Pan American Games
|rowspan=2|Winnipeg, Canada
|4th
|400 m hurdles
|48.60
|-
|6th
|4 × 400 m relay
|3:05.19
|-
|World Championships
|Seville, Spain
|23rd (h)
|400 m hurdles
|49.67
|-
|2000
|Olympic Games
|Sydney, Australia
|20th (sf)
|400 m hurdles
|49.69
|-
|rowspan=3|2001
|World Indoor Championships
|Lisbon, Portugal
|8th (sf)
|400 m
|47.29
|-
|World Championships
|Edmonton, Canada
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|400 m hurdles
|47.49
|-
|Goodwill Games
|Brisbane, Australia
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|400 m hurdles
|48.47
|-
|2002
|Central American and Caribbean Games
|San Salvador, El Salvador
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|4 × 400 m relay
|3:04.15
|-
|rowspan=4|2003
|rowspan=2|Pan American Games
|rowspan=2|Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|400 m hurdles
|48.19
|-
| style="background:#c96;"|3rd
|4 × 400 m relay
|3:02.02
|-
|rowspan=2|World Championships
|rowspan=2|Paris, France
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|400 m hurdles
|47.25
|-
| –
|4 × 400 m relay
|DQ
|-
|2004
|Olympic Games
|Athens, Greece
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|400 m hurdles
|47.63
|-
|2005
|World Championships
|Helsinki, Finland
|8th
|400 m hurdles
|DNF
|-
|rowspan=2|2006
|rowspan=2|Central American and Caribbean Games
|rowspan=2|Cartagena, Colombia
|4th
|400 m hurdles
|50.45
|-
| style="background:#c96;"|3rd
|4 × 400 metres relay
|3:03.25
|-
|rowspan=4|2007
|rowspan=2|Pan American Games
|rowspan=2|Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|4th
|400 m hurdles
|49.28
|-
| style="background:#c96;"|3rd
|4 × 400 m relay
|3:02.48
|-
|rowspan=2|World Championships
|rowspan=2|Osaka, Japan
| style="background:silver;"|2nd
|400 m hurdles
|48.01
|-
|7th
|4 × 400 m relay
|3:03.56
|-
|2008
|Olympic Games
|Beijing, China
|22nd (h)
|400 m hurdles
|51.10
|-
|rowspan=3|2009
|Central American and Caribbean Championships
|Havana, Cuba
| style="background:silver;"|2nd
|400 m hurdles
|48.85
|-
|rowspan=2|World Championships
|rowspan=2|Berlin, Germany
|8th
|400 m hurdles
|50.11
|-
|6th
|4 × 400 m relay
|3:02.47
|-
|rowspan=2|2010
|World Indoor Championships
|Doha, Qatar
|3rd (h)
|4 × 400 m relay
|3:06.30 (iNR)
|-
|Central American and Caribbean Games
|Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
|4th
|400 m hurdles
|50.08
|-
|rowspan=3|2011
|Central American and Caribbean Championships
|Mayagüez, Puerto Rico
| style="background:silver;"|2nd
|400 m hurdles
|49.41
|-
|World Championships
|Daegu, South Korea
|4th
|400 m hurdles
|48.87
|-
|Pan American Games
|Guadalajara, Mexico
| style="background:#c96;"|3rd
|400 m hurdles
|48.85
|-
|rowspan=2|2012
|rowspan=2|Olympic Games
|rowspan=2|London, United Kingdom
|bgcolor=gold|1st
|400 m hurdles
|47.63
|-
| –
|4 × 400 m relay
|DQ
|-
|rowspan=2|2013
|Central American and Caribbean Championships
|Morelia, Mexico
| style="background:#c96;"|3rd
|4 × 400 m relay
|3:02.82
|-
|World Championships
|Moscow, Russia
|5th
|400 m hurdles
|48.22
|-
|2015
|NACAC Championships
|San José, Costa Rica
|5th
|400 m hurdles
|50.23
|}
References
External links
- 2004 interview and profile in Open Your Eyes magazine