LaShawn Merritt runs 44.03 to beat Wariner

[footballers77]

LaShawn Merritt ran 44.03 to Wariner's 44.07 to beat him at the iaaf golden league in Berlin

[cnick]

Somewhere TAL is smiling.

[maniacmiler]

what an awesome race. The trials are going to be awesome!

[king99]

There are folks waiting to watch this,please do NOT put results time and who wins right in the title.

Something LIKE Berlin 400 here, is okay

[jordon holtzman]

nice, GOOD STUFF LaSHAWN

[ZealotAssasin]

This is EUGEEE.

[jacksparrow34313]

There are folks waiting to watch this,please do NOT put results time and who wins right in the title.

Something LIKE Berlin 400 here, is okay
QFE, I was on Dyestat looking at some high school stuff, while watching the meet on ESPN, saw this from the home page, totally ruined it for me.

That said, prepare for Wariner to be roundly torn apart for leaving Hart...

[king99]

Jack I was pissed as well,Folks should NEVER assume pthers are watching the web cast instead of TV

Also? On Wariner? I would not make too too much out of a FAST 44.07 LOSS!!

[jacksparrow34313]

Jack I was pissed as well,Folks should NEVER assume pthers are watching the web cast instead of TV

Also? On Wariner? I would not make too too much out of a FAST 44.07 LOSS!!
The time is no worse than what he is usually running at this time of year. He's never run under 44 in June, the earliest he's done it was 43.91 at the Paris GL meet on July 8, 2006. So I wouldn't get too worried about him yet, it is possible that Merritt has just reached him, which some were predicting would happen eventually anyway. The thing that does worry me about Wariner is that he was clearly struggling in that last 50 meters, when every other time I've watched him race, his last 50 has looked totally powerful and effortless.

[Anthony]

Amazing run by Merritt! Should be an awesome trials and games :D

[HJ Beast]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=sD4AS0tfLjs

I still call Wariner for the gold in Beijing :)

[Anthony]

Same here, but this makes things much more interesting.

[Equinox2100]

Snap

[TIGERCROSS 09]

i saw an interview in which wariner said he "had more fun" with his new coach. its not supposed to be about fun you dumba** hick. no wonder he lost.

[prongs]

dumba** hick.
qfposterslocation

[Ash Catch'em]

i thought wariner could go 8 years without losing a race

[Anthony]

i saw an interview in which wariner said he "had more fun" with his new coach. its not supposed to be about fun you dumba** hick. no wonder he lost.
What in the hell are you talking about? There's absolutely NOTHING wrong with having fun working out. That doesn't mean he's slacking off. You seem to be forgetting that this is still a good time for him -- I believe it's his fastest this early in the year.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I'd much rather lose a race in June than one in August, where there's going to be a lot more to lose. I'm not saying he has it locked up, but he definitely could've picked a worse time to lose.

[Junker23]

Come on, it was like 8 threads down.

[emceelaszlo]

There are others on this site who know running statistic sites better than I do. What month was it that Wariner opened in 44.02 in Osaka?

In regards to this race... Merritt looked AMAZING. This might have been the finest race I've seen run by Merritt (even more than his breaking 44). His form was fluid and graceful all throughout 300m, and with 100 left his arm swing and leg lift is what carried him to a surprising but very well deserved win

[Prince]

It looked like to me that Wariner pulled up a lot the last 25m.

[jacksparrow34313]

Wariner's 44.02 last year was in May, by far his best early season race. Besides that one race, this is the fastest he has ever run before the month of July. This is not a terrible result, but certainly not a very good one either. However, I also remember somebody posting his and Merritt's progressions at each age a while ago, and they were remarkably similar, we just didn't notice it as much with Merritt because while he was progressing he was still getting beaten handily by Wariner. It could be that the days of Wariner being the lone top dog at the 400 are over. If that's the case, I can't say I would be disappointed, the sport needs big time rivalries IMO.

[TrackCoach]

Incrediable race for both guys at this point in the season and I would not worry too much about Wairner becasue he is about were he was last year in turns of time. Merritt is an emence talent, he is young and faster in the 200m; you had to figure this would happen at some point.

In terms of Wairner form, it is easy to look smooth when you are not being pressed. Twice this year are the first times in a while he has been pressed all the way to the tape.

[Junker23]

It looked like to me that Wariner pulled up a lot the last 25m.

I thought it looked like he pulled up when he wasn't going to pass Merritt.

[BHSMiddleDistance]

Don't forget that Wariner went out really hard on the first curve, instead of like normal when he goes out hard on the 2nd curve. Maybe he was unable to handle going out so fast at the start? He could be experimenting to see if there's a better strategy that he could use to try to break the world record?

[kingcoe]

Very exciting!! Merritt's 2nd fastest run ever and Wariner is back!

I wouldn't write off Wariner yet, lets remember he has had some injury issues so far this season and may only just be rounding into form. When I saw that Merritt had beaten him it never occured to me that he would have lost in a time that fast and was worried he was still struggling.

Assuming he exits this run injury free I think Wariner is easily right where he needs to be. To boot, I think a loss every once in a while is good as it keeps you hungry.

Wariner will be running sub 44 again this year. All this race proves is Merritt is here to stay and that the 400 just got a whole lot more interesting :D

Sidenote: Xavier Carter looked pretty darn good in his 400 win in NY. Its a shame he can't run a 200/ 400 double as the 100 is just too brutal internationally right now.

[Anthony]

Jeremy Wariner runs 43.98 to retake his world-leading time:
http://www.bislettgames.com/2008/results/re0040041.html

Should be interesting to see what LaShawn does at Pre now.