From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
LaShawn Merritt (born June 27, 1986) is an
American sprinter who specializes in the 400 meters.
Biography
Merritt is a native of Portsmouth, Virginia where he graduated from Woodrow
Wilson High School. LaShawn spent one year as a college athlete
at East Carolina University,
signing an endorsement contract with Nike during his first season of indoor
track, making him no longer eligible to compete in an NCAA event.
He is currently enrolled at Norfolk State University in Norfolk,Virginia.[1]
Career
Merritt came to prominence as a junior athlete at the 2004 World
Junior Championships in Athletics. He took the gold medal in
the 400 meters race, and set two junior world
records as part of the American 4×100 and 4×400 meter relay
teams.[2]
Merritt claimed the 400 m silver medal at the 2007 World
Championships in Athletics in Osaka. He also won his first gold medal in a
major tournament with the 4×400 meter relay team.
Merritt won the 400 m at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. A
close race between Merritt and Jeremy Wariner was expected,[3] though
it ultimately ended in a rout. The 0.99 second margin between
Merritt's first-place finish and Wariner's second-place finish was
the largest in an Olympic 400 m final.[4] His
time of 43.75 makes him the fifth fastest 400 m runner in
history.[5]
He won the 400 m at the 2009 US
Championships, equalling his own world leading time of
44.50 seconds. At the 2009 World
Championships in Athletics, in Berlin, Merritt went on to win the 400 m in
a world-leading time of 44.06 seconds, once again beating
Wariner.[6][7]
Achievements
| Year |
Tournament |
Venue |
Result |
Event |
| 2004 |
World Junior
Championships |
Grosseto,
Italy |
1st |
400 m |
| 1st |
4x100 m relay |
| 1st |
4x400 m relay |
| 2006 |
World Indoor
Championships |
Moscow, Russia |
1st |
4x400 m relay |
| World Athletics
Final |
Stuttgart,
Germany |
3rd |
400 m |
| World Cup |
Athens,
Greece |
1st |
400 m |
| 1st |
4x400 m relay |
| 2007 |
IAAF World Championships in Athletics |
Osaka, Japan |
2nd |
400 m, PB 43.96 |
| World Athletics
Final |
Stuttgart,
Germany |
1st |
400 m |
| 2008 |
Summer Olympics |
Beijing, China |
1st |
400 m, PB 43.75 |
| Summer Olympics |
Beijing, China |
1st |
4x400 m relay |
| 2009 |
IAAF World
Championships in Athletics |
Berlin, Germany |
1st |
400 m, 44.06 |
| IAAF World
Championships in Athletics |
Berlin, Germany |
1st |
4x400 m relay |
Personal bests - Outdoor
Personal
bests - Indoor
References
- ^
http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Merritt_LaShawn.asp
LaShawn Merritt
- ^
Grosseto - Three World Junior
records set in the space of 90 minutes. IAAF (2004-07-18). Retrieved
on 2009-06-02.
- ^
Forde, Pat
(2008-08-08), Hold on to your medals
... The Dash is checking in from Beijing, ESPN, http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3523021, retrieved
2008-08-08
- ^
Hersh, Philip
(2008-08-21), In the men's 400 meters,
LaShawn Merritt's a fast learner, Los Angeles
Times, http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-olymentrack22-2008aug22,0,7811586.story, retrieved
2008-08-21
- ^
IAAF International
Association of Athletics Federations - IAAF.org - Statistics - Top
Lists
- ^
"400 Metres - M Final".
August 21, 2009. http://berlin.iaaf.org/results/bydiscipline/disctype=4/sex=M/discCode=400/combCode=hash/roundCode=f/results.html#detM_400_hash_f.
- ^
Grohmann, Karolos
(2009-08-21), Merritt crushes Wariner
again for 400m title, Reuters, http://www.reuters.com/article/sportsNews/idUSTRE57K51Q20090821, retrieved
2008-08-22
External
links
| ESPN RISE 2000s All-Decade High School
Track & Field Team |
|
| Individuals |
|
|
| Teams |
|
|
| Olympic
Champions in Men's 4×400 m Relay |
|
1908 United States:
(medley) William F. Hamilton, Nathaniel
Cartmell, John
Taylor, Mel
Sheppard · 1912 United States: Mel Sheppard, Edward
Lindberg, Ted Meredith, Charles
Reidpath · 1920 Great Britain: Cecil
Griffiths, Robert Lindsay, John Ainsworth-Davies, Guy
Butler · 1924 United States: Commodore
Cochran, Alan
Helffrich, Oliver
MacDonald, William
Stevenson · 1928 United States: George Baird, Emerson
Spencer, Frederick
Alderman, Ray
Barbuti · 1932 United States: Ivan Fuqua, Edgar
Ablowich, Karl Warner, Bill
Carr · 1936 Great Britain: Frederick
Wolff, Godfrey Rampling, William Roberts, Godfrey
Brown · 1948 United States: Arthur Harnden,
Clifford
Bourland, Roy Cochran, Mal
Whitfield · 1952 Jamaica: Arthur Wint, Leslie Laing,
Herb McKenley, George
Rhoden · 1956 United States: Charlie
Jenkins, Louis
Jones, Jesse Mashburn,
Tom
Courtney · 1960 United States: Jack Yerman, Earl Young, Glenn Davis, Otis
Davis · 1964 United States: Ollan Cassell, Michael
Larrabee, Ulis Williams, Henry
Carr · 1968 United States: Vincent
Matthews, Ron
Freeman, Larry James, Lee
Evans · 1972 Kenya: Charles Asati, Hezahiah
Nyamau, Robert
Ouko, Julius
Sang · 1976 United States: Herman Frazier,
Benjamin Brown, Fred Newhouse, Maxie Parks ·
1980 Soviet
Union: Remigijus Valiulis, Mikhail
Linge, Nikolay
Chernetsky, Viktor
Markin · 1984 United States: Sunder Nix, Ray Armstead,
Alonzo Babers, Antonio
McKay · 1988 United States: Danny Everett, Steve
Lewis, Kevin
Robinzine, Butch
Reynolds · 1992 United States: Andrew Valmon, Quincy Watts,
Michael Johnson, Steve
Lewis · 1996 United States: LaMont Smith, Alvin
Harrison, Derek Mills, Anthuan
Maybank · 2000 Vacant:
·
2004 United
States: Otis
Harris, Derrick
Brew, Jeremy Wariner,
Darold
Williamson · 2008 United States:
LaShawn Merritt, Angelo Taylor, David Neville, Jeremy
Wariner
|
|
|
World Indoor
Champions in Men's 4×400 m Relay |
|
1991: Germany (Lieder, Carlowitz, Just, Schönlebe) •
1993: USA (Hall, Irvin, Rouser, Everett) •
1995: USA (Tolbert, Davis, Long,
Atwater) • 1997: USA (Rouser, Everett, Maye,
Minor) • 1999: USA (Morris,
Johnson, Minor, Campbell) •
2001: Poland (Rysiukiewicz, Haczek, Bocian, Maćkowiak) •
2003: USA (Davis, Young, Campbell, Washington) •
2004: Jamaica (Haughton, Colquhoun, McDonald, Clarke) •
2006: USA (Washington, Merritt, Campbell, Spearmon) •
2008: USA (Davis, Torrance, Nixon, Willie)
|
|
United
States
Wikis
Quiz
Map
Search
