Players Mentioned
Sprints/LJ
/ Track & Field
Photo by: Hali Helfgott
Getting To Know Madisen Richards
March 29, 2018 | Track & Field, Features
Senior long jumper Madisen Richards enters her final year with the USC track and field team prepared to leave her mark on the team. After a leg injury kept her on the sidelines for the majority of the 2016 season, Richards came back stronger than ever as a junior. She finished seventh in the long jump with a leap of 19-1.25/5.82m (+0.4) at the Pac-12 Championships and fourth at the MPSF Championships with a jump of 19-3.25 (5.87m). As she prepares to graduate in May, Richards spoke about her athletic goals for the season, her plans to attend medical school and her hectic life as a pre-med student-athlete.
Q: How have you embraced a leadership role as a senior on the team?
MR: I think I'm more of a quiet leader. I try to be really encouraging to my teammates because I've experienced some hardship while I've been at USC, so when I see people going through something, I want to do my best to be there for them.
Q: What has been your favorite moment as a member of the track & field team?
MR: It's kind of cliché, but I think everyone's favorite moment comes from the Dual Meet because it's just something special against UCLA. It was my freshman year actually and I wasn't in scoring position and then going into my last jump I ended up setting a personal record, placing third, and getting a point for the team. That was awesome because it's always great to help the team.
Q: What are your plans for post-graduation?
MR: I'm planning on attending medical school. I think I want to go into dermatology or maybe sports medicine, just from being around all of this all of the time. As of right now, medical school is still the plan.
Q: Can you talk about your volunteer work with the Marcelle Erian Cancer Foundation?
MR: I've volunteered there since seventh grade. The Marcelle Erian Cancer Foundation is a women's cancer support group and they meet every month. Unfortunately, I'm not as involved since I've been here because it's back in my hometown (Simi Valley, California) which is an hour away from here. But, I've gotten to meet a group of incredible people who have adopted me in a way because many of them are grandparents, mothers or aunts. Obviously, it's hard to see people you've met and gotten to know pass, but it's given me an experience that has inspired me to want to go into medicine.
Q: Has your work with the Cancer Foundation influenced what type of medicine you want to practice?
MR: Yes, my uncle was an oncologist and my mom was an oncology nurse so they have worked closely with cancer for many years. I thought I wanted to go into oncology for a really long time. A lot of people you meet at the Cancer Foundation end up doing better than their predicted outcomes and that experience definitely inspired me to want to go into medicine.
Q: What made you want to be a long jumper?
MR: I started track because I wasn't really coordinated when I was little. I did the whole soccer thing and my parents say that once I was in a soccer game and knocked some girl over and instead of going to score, I stopped and was like 'Oh my gosh, are you okay?'. I knew from then I wasn't really aggressive or a contact sport person, but I could always run. One of my mom's friend's kid did track so I got into track. You kind of do everything when you're a little kid because you're just like 'I want to do all these events and get all these ribbons and medals!'. One of my best friends who I met through track at the time was better at the long jump than me and I was determined to beat her at that. I liked that it's more than just running and there's such a technical aspect to it as well.
Q: What did you learn from your experience being sidelined with an injury for the majority of the 2016 season?
MR: I think it made me appreciate the sport a lot more. We are out here every day and we always expect that we're going to be able to come back to the track the next day and get to train or get to go the next meet. For me, that injury was really unexpected. I was just at a meet and fractured my leg randomly. It made me realize that it can be taken away from you at any second, so I try to appreciate every opportunity I have out on the track. I even missed going to practice and being with my teammates.
Q: How have you balanced life as a student-athlete?
MR: It's definitely been hard. Everyone told me that there was no way I could be pre-med and be an athlete. They said it just doesn't work because pre-med students are already crazy and then you throw on four hours of practice every day and there's no way you can do it. But, I've been able to do it and time management has been the biggest part of that. I have a crazy organized planner where everything is color coordinated and it's really helped me to manage my time. I think being out on the track is also such a good break from it all. Pre-med classes are annoying and rigorous and I'm always studying, so when I come out to the track it's nice to be able to take my mind away from school and focus on something else.
Q: What are some of the athletic goals you are setting for yourself for this season?
MR: I want to make nationals. I think that after my injury I had a bit of a setback. I struggled a bit during my freshman campaign and then we changed training and I was doing really well. After my injury, I've struggled to get back to a point that I felt I was successful, so for my last year I want to make nationals, contribute to the team, and jump far.
Q: Do you have any pre-competition rituals?
MR: I definitely listen to a lot of Drake before I compete. Coach always tells us to listen to Future, but I don't know I like Drake. I guess that's the only ritual I really have.
Q: How have you embraced a leadership role as a senior on the team?
MR: I think I'm more of a quiet leader. I try to be really encouraging to my teammates because I've experienced some hardship while I've been at USC, so when I see people going through something, I want to do my best to be there for them.
Q: What has been your favorite moment as a member of the track & field team?
MR: It's kind of cliché, but I think everyone's favorite moment comes from the Dual Meet because it's just something special against UCLA. It was my freshman year actually and I wasn't in scoring position and then going into my last jump I ended up setting a personal record, placing third, and getting a point for the team. That was awesome because it's always great to help the team.
Q: What are your plans for post-graduation?
MR: I'm planning on attending medical school. I think I want to go into dermatology or maybe sports medicine, just from being around all of this all of the time. As of right now, medical school is still the plan.
Q: Can you talk about your volunteer work with the Marcelle Erian Cancer Foundation?
MR: I've volunteered there since seventh grade. The Marcelle Erian Cancer Foundation is a women's cancer support group and they meet every month. Unfortunately, I'm not as involved since I've been here because it's back in my hometown (Simi Valley, California) which is an hour away from here. But, I've gotten to meet a group of incredible people who have adopted me in a way because many of them are grandparents, mothers or aunts. Obviously, it's hard to see people you've met and gotten to know pass, but it's given me an experience that has inspired me to want to go into medicine.
Q: Has your work with the Cancer Foundation influenced what type of medicine you want to practice?
MR: Yes, my uncle was an oncologist and my mom was an oncology nurse so they have worked closely with cancer for many years. I thought I wanted to go into oncology for a really long time. A lot of people you meet at the Cancer Foundation end up doing better than their predicted outcomes and that experience definitely inspired me to want to go into medicine.
Q: What made you want to be a long jumper?
MR: I started track because I wasn't really coordinated when I was little. I did the whole soccer thing and my parents say that once I was in a soccer game and knocked some girl over and instead of going to score, I stopped and was like 'Oh my gosh, are you okay?'. I knew from then I wasn't really aggressive or a contact sport person, but I could always run. One of my mom's friend's kid did track so I got into track. You kind of do everything when you're a little kid because you're just like 'I want to do all these events and get all these ribbons and medals!'. One of my best friends who I met through track at the time was better at the long jump than me and I was determined to beat her at that. I liked that it's more than just running and there's such a technical aspect to it as well.
Q: What did you learn from your experience being sidelined with an injury for the majority of the 2016 season?
MR: I think it made me appreciate the sport a lot more. We are out here every day and we always expect that we're going to be able to come back to the track the next day and get to train or get to go the next meet. For me, that injury was really unexpected. I was just at a meet and fractured my leg randomly. It made me realize that it can be taken away from you at any second, so I try to appreciate every opportunity I have out on the track. I even missed going to practice and being with my teammates.
Q: How have you balanced life as a student-athlete?
MR: It's definitely been hard. Everyone told me that there was no way I could be pre-med and be an athlete. They said it just doesn't work because pre-med students are already crazy and then you throw on four hours of practice every day and there's no way you can do it. But, I've been able to do it and time management has been the biggest part of that. I have a crazy organized planner where everything is color coordinated and it's really helped me to manage my time. I think being out on the track is also such a good break from it all. Pre-med classes are annoying and rigorous and I'm always studying, so when I come out to the track it's nice to be able to take my mind away from school and focus on something else.
Q: What are some of the athletic goals you are setting for yourself for this season?
MR: I want to make nationals. I think that after my injury I had a bit of a setback. I struggled a bit during my freshman campaign and then we changed training and I was doing really well. After my injury, I've struggled to get back to a point that I felt I was successful, so for my last year I want to make nationals, contribute to the team, and jump far.
Q: Do you have any pre-competition rituals?
MR: I definitely listen to a lot of Drake before I compete. Coach always tells us to listen to Future, but I don't know I like Drake. I guess that's the only ritual I really have.
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