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Merritt proves Wariner is not invincible in 400m

LaShawn Merritt posted his second upset of the year over the world’s supposed fastest 400m runner, pulling away from Jeremy Wariner in the final 150m to win the US Olympic track and field trials on Thursday.

Merritt finished in 44 seconds flat, defeating Wariner by 0.20.

Earning the third spot was national indoor champion David Neville.

“Coming into this, I wasn’t really worried about everyone saying I wasn’t the favorite,” Merritt said. “In my mind, I was the favorite.”

Moments before, the women’s 400m went much more to form, with Sanya Richards winning and Mary Wineberg and Dee Dee Trotter capturing the other two spots.

Richards is seeking an individual gold medal to go with the 1,600m relay gold she won in Athens.

In the 1,500m quarter-finals, Bernard Lagat, Lopez Lomong, Alan Webb and Leo Manzano advanced to yesterday’s semis. Kenyan-born Lagat, already qualified for the Olympics in the 5,000m, finished fourth in his heat, clearly saving energy for two more races to come.

In the women’s steeplechase, Anna Willard set a US record, finishing the 3,000m race in nine minutes, 27.59 seconds.

The race of the night, however, was the 400m.

Merritt took to the track with a red-white-and-blue necklace his massage therapist made for him before the race. Wariner was in his trademark sunglasses, even though it was twilight.

Wariner said he wasn’t disappointed in finishing second.

“I just came here to make the team,” he said.

But his body language at the finish line told a different story.

He shuffled his feet in apparent frustration, then looked at the clock, which showed 44.20 — well off his personal best (43.45) and nowhere near Michael Johnson’s world record (43.18) that Wariner has said is within reach for him this year.

“The record is one thing I want to do, but I have to focus on winning the gold medal first,” he said.

He is, indeed, not used to losing, though he has lost two of his last three races with Merritt in the field. Merritt snapped Wariner’s nine-race winning streak earlier this year in Berlin, a result that turned heads simply because nobody has really challenged Wariner since he won the Olympic gold four years ago. Merritt is now 3-12 lifetime in races against Wariner.

But he was hardly in the mood to rub it in. Few will remember who won the Olympic trials. Many will remember who win the Olympics next month.

“I won, but after today, it’s not about the trials anymore,” Merritt said. “It’s about Beijing.”

Starting in lane 6, one lane outside of Wariner, Merritt jumped to a slim lead about halfway through, though that’s nothing surprising; Wariner does his best work in the final 150m.

But Merritt did not let up and as they started down the backstretch, it became clear that Wariner would not make a move to catch Merritt, who finished second to Wariner at world championships last year.

“LaShawn was just the better man today,” Wariner said.
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