Merritt targets Johnson's 400m world record
LASHAWN Merritt insists his work is not done despite adding the 400m world title to his Olympic crown - and already has his eye on breaking Michael Johnson's world record next year.
NUMBER ONE: LaShawn Merritt has left American rival Jeremy Wariner trailing in his wake this year - and intends to do the same in 2010
Merritt captured gold in Berlin ahead of American rival Jeremy Wariner - who he beat to the Olympic title in Beijing - in 44.06 seconds.
The Virginia-native clocked 43.75, a personal best, in China to put him fifth on the 400m all-time list, with Johnson's mark standing at 43.18.
And Merritt admits he only has eyes on toppling the four-time Olympic champion and will make the world record his number one priority in 2010.
"Next year will all be about times - I just want to try and drop my times and not run as many races," said Merritt.
"This year was a World Championship year so it was more about winning races - when it comes to the World Championships you just want to get there and win it and that's what I did.
"Next year is an off year so I'll try to focus on my speed in training.
"I think about Michael Johnson's record like I want to get there but I don't go into a race thinking about it.
"But the world record is a goal of mine and I definitely feel like I've got that extra bit of time in me."
Merritt will draw his season to a close at this weekend's World Athletics Final in Thessaloniki, Greece, where he will once again go head-to-head with Athens Olympic champion Wariner.
And the 23-year-old admits he is looking forward to closing his account with a win before taking a well earned break.
"I'm feeling good at the moment off the back of the World Championships - I ran 44.21 in Zurich and ran well again at Gateshead," added Merritt.
"After the World Athletics Final I will take six weeks off to relax and start back in November with some base training.
"I'm only young and I've got many more years in the sport but I've had a great year to date."
LONDON 2012: Time for BOA to reconsider their stance on Millar and Chambers
Athletics /
Cycling /
London 2012
Working...
Comments
Merritt has more ability to
Merritt has more ability to go faster. Warnier will only go faster if Merritt is in front of him.
Not a good year for 400m
Did I miss something, or was there some drug specific to 400m ruuners that the powers that be figured out how to test for this year? I don't have the statistics available, but this year might have been the worst year in 40 years for 400m performances.
Really, it seemed that they
Really, it seemed that they avoided each other in a number of meets and only met up a few times. After watching Merritt, he ran just fast enough to beat Warnier but could have done much better if pushed.He ran behind Warnier in every meet and used him as a rabbit versus pushing the pace.
Yes but neither of them goes
Yes but neither of them goes out of their way to avoid the other. As long as they keep hammering away at each other, the sport will be better for it. BOTH of their times will come down. Wariner will have a full season back under his old coach next year so things will tighten up considerably. I wish all the events were like the men's 400.
Merritt's trying to obtain
Merritt's trying to obtain some of the publicity that Johnson had but he has yet to prove himself based on his times. He's so caught up with just beating Warnier that he has not pushed himself to a higher level.
Post new comment