A Blazing Victory at 300 Meters
by Matt Martino
Coming into Sunday's Prefontaine Classic, LaShawn Merritt, the reigning 400m gold medalist, decided to drop in distance. Still, despite running the rare 300m sprint at Hayward Field, the outcome was one that has become commonplace: victory.
Not only did LaShawn win with a time 31.30, but he also set a few records along the way. He broke his own sea level and U.S. soil world-record marks of 31.31, which were set at Hayward Field in 2006. He also shattered the Prefontaine-best of 32.19 set by Jason Rouser in 1994
LaShawn’s 31.30 trails only the mark of 30.85 set by Michael Johnson in the altitude of Pretoria, South Africa in 2000. The seldom run distance seems to be a perfect fit for LaShawn’s speed and strength:
"The three is right down my alley. You had great 400m runners and 200m specialists. I know I can run with the best in the world in the 200m in that field so I knew I was in the right position. I know that I have the strength of the quarter-miler."
NEXT UP
The Prefontaine is the fifth and final stop on the USATF VISA Championship Series as well as the last major U.S. meet before the national championships on June 25-28 in Eugene.
The national championships will be held at Hayward Field to determine the U.S. team for the IAAF World Championships in Berlin.
RELATED STORIES
Phillips sails 8.74m in Eugene for best Long Jump in world since 1991 (iaaf.org, June 8, 2009)
http://www.iaaf.org/GP09/news/kind=100/newsid=50980.html
Prefontaine Classic report card (Universal Sports, June 8, 2009)
http://www.universalsports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=23000&ATCLID=3...
Merritt bests his own Hayward record in 300 (AP, June 7, 2009)
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gi2OeYdRF8e7QX7X8JkRS3...
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