08/21/2008 - 11:09
Great As Gold
by Ruth Frantz

In a showdown for the ages, LaShawn dominated rival Jeremy Wariner in the Olympic 400m final Thursday night, taking the gold medal, and clocking a personal best in the process.

LaShawn crossed the finish line in 43.75 seconds, nearly a full second ahead of Wariner (44.72), who held on to take the silver. David Neville took bronze, completing an American sweep of the event.

LaShawn crosses the finish line as Jeremy Wariner and David Neville follow (Getty Images).

It was a sensational performance for LaShawn, who many considered an underdog going into the medal stage of the 400. He always felt otherwise, and proved it in authoritative fashion when it mattered most.

"Coming into this race, I said I’m going to run faster than I have ever run. I had a game plan. I stuck to it."

FOR ANTWAN
Defeating Wariner was LaShawn's race-related motivation for winning gold, but he was also driven at a deeper level by his love for his later brother, Antwan. It was not long after Antwan passed away -- when LaShawn was only 13 years old -- that LaShawn discovered track.

Since then, his brother's spirit was been an inspiration, and more. As ESPN.com wrote:

Anybody disappointed in Wariner’s loss can take solace in the fact that Merritt wears his new crown well. He’s unfailingly polite and friendly in public, and keeps alive the memory of his brother, Antwan, who helped raise him but died in a fall from a college dorm window in 1999. “I dedicated this race to him,” Merritt said.

The U.K.'s Independent read:

Before settling into his starting blocks for the Olympic 400m final in the Beijing National Stadium yesterday, LaShawn Merritt blew a kiss and pointed up towards the smog-free sky. He was about to honour the memory of his late brother, and also answer a prayer for American sprinting – if the 400m race qualifies as a sprint, that is.

After the race, Merritt spoke about Antwan with the press.

“When I run I always think of my brother. Every time I go on the track I say a prayer in my brother’s remembrance. He plays a big role in my success.”

STRATEGY
LaShawn entered the final in Beijing with a well-thought out strategy, and did not deviate from it.

"The game plan was to get out and use my height. I saw some people were taking less steps than me so I had to use my height to my advantage. I ran a good race."

He also took some cues from Usain Bolt, Jamaica's Olympic gold medalist and world record breaker in the 100 and 200 meters. Both are taller than most sprinters -- Bolt is 6'5” while LaShawn is 6’3” -- and that can be an advantage, as the 400m gold medalist explained to the BBC:

“I learned something from [Usain] Bolt in the 200m. He really opened up in the back, so I decided I would open up in the final and let it fly.” “I used to run that way back in high school, before I started to get all technical. So I came here and said I’m just going to open up and let it fly, and that’s how it played out.”

HOMETOWN HERO
Back in Portsmouth, Virginia -- LaShawn's hometown -- the locals were getting ready to hit him with a hero's welcome upon his return. As the Virginian-Pilot reported:

“We’re going to have a celebration,” Portsmouth Mayor James W. Holley said when he was told that Merritt had beaten defending champion Jeremy Wariner by almost a full second. “I’m going to City Hall now and get the committee together. We’ll get a parade and we’ll get the business community wrapped up in it.”

“He really represented us well.”

WARINER: GRACIOUS IN DEFEAT
Despite suffering what must have been a difficult defeat, Wariner was all class when the race was complete, taking time to congratulate the new Olympic title holder.

"LaShawn ran a better race than me. I came off the turn, I felt good, but when I went for it, it wasn’t there. I have to be happy with a medal."

LaShawn paid his respects to Wariner as well.

"Jeremy Wariner is a good competitor. I knew it would be hard race because Jeremy was always going to bring his A game. I just had to bring my A-plus game."

RELATED ARTICLES
Merritt Claims 400m Crown (Sporting Life, Aug. 21, 2008)
http://olympics.sportinglife.com/olympics/story/0,23911,14940_4025200,00...
Merritt Clinches Shock 400m Gold (BBC, Aug. 21, 2008)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/athletics/7574890.stm
Merritt leads sweep in men’s 400m (NBCOlympics.com, Aug. 21, 2008)
http://www.nbcolympics.com/trackandfield/news/newsid=242887.html#good+me...
A brother’s tribute consoles US (The Independent, August 21st, 2008)
http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/athletics/a-brothers-tribute...
Leave it to the 400 meters crew to save the US team at Games (ESPN.com, August 21st, 2008)
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/trackandfield/columns/story?id=35...
Merritt clinches shock 400m gold (BBC, August 21st, 2008)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics/athletics/7574890.stm
LaShawn Merritt ends Jeremy Wariner’s 400m domination (The Australian News, August 21st, 2008)
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/beijing_olympics/story/0,27313,2421...
With Olympic Gold, LaShawn fulfills his promise (Pilot Online, August 22nd, 2008)
http://hamptonroads.com/2008/08/olympic-gold-lashawn-fulfills-his-promis...

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