INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Poised, personable and oh-so fast, Sanya Richards is ready to take over as the face of U.S. track and field, now that Justin Gatlin has fallen embarrassingly on his.

"I think he started to take the sport to higher levels with his accomplishments and charisma," Richards said, "but I think we have people now that can pick up the baton."

Richards is at the top of that list as the world’s best female 400-meter runner.

She had the event’s five fastest times last year, capped by an American record 48.70 seconds at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Cup on Sept. 16 in Athens.

After breaking 50 seconds nine times in 2006, she was named athlete of the year by the IAAF - the world governing body of track and field.

This week at the U.S. Track and Field Championships, Richards will go after her fourth national 400 title - and she’s only 22.

"It’s really humbling but really exciting," she said yesterday. "There’s a short window for you to be the best and have all these opportunities to be the face of the sport and a household name. I’m taking full advantage of those opportunities."

All that’s missing is a major international title. She will be favored to win at least one at this year’s World Championships in Osaka and at next year’s Olympics in Beijing.

"I’m training my butt off every day in practice to continue to win," Richards said, "because all this stuff comes from what you do on the track."

She enters the U.S. meet after competing only twice this year. She pulled out of her first four appearances because of a flu-like illness that still bothers her.

She believes that three years of working in Waco, Texas, with 400 guru Clyde Hart has prepared her to run that many rounds. Hart also coaches world champion and Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner. His former pupils include Olympic great and world record holder Michael Johnson.

Since she won the NCAA and her first U.S. crown in 2003 as a Texas freshman, Richards has been a leading member of a group of highly talented youngsters who vowed to clean up the sport’s drug-stained image.

She recalls that she, Gatlin, LaShawn Merritt, Allyson Felix and Lauryn Williams would make appearances carrying that anti-drug message as part of USA Track and Field’s "Be a Champion" program. But last year at the Kansas Relays, Gatlin tested positive for banned substances.

"I was really, really disappointed, but I like Justin a lot," Richards said. "I think he’s a really great guy. There are so many stories now circulating about the circumstances. I’m hoping that he didn’t know what was going on, that it was done without his knowledge and that he will be able to come back and prove that he’s a great ambassador for the sport."

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