by Larry EderThe mens’ 400 meters is about to start. Avard Moncur of the Bahamas, the 2001 winner, Christopher Tyler, the bronze medalist in Helsinki from Canada, Angelo Taylor, the 2000 gold medalist at the 400 m hurdles, LaShawn Merritt of the U.S., Jeremy Wariner, Athens’ gold, Helsinki Gold, number three time ever, Leslie Djhone, French
national record holder, Chris Brown of the Bahamas, and Johan Wissam, of Sweden, who set two national records in the heats….runners take your marks!
With the slowest reaction time of the field, Jeremy Wariner got out of the blocks and did what coach Clyde Hart has been advising for years-run relaxed, focus, and run the entire race.
Wariner ran a race that was deceptive in its smoothness, but frightening in its brutality. His 43.45 moves him to a new personal best, a new world leader and he owns the third best performance in 400 meter history! Jeremy Wariner, with wins in Athens, Helsinki and Osaka, owns the men’s 400 meters. Someone can try to take him on, but not only his speed, but his endurance perfectly matches the needs of this race. Clyde Hart needs to be congratulated, as he has had two very different athletes, Mr. Johnson, a long sprinter, really a 200 meter guy, who ran the 200 meters and 400 meters with some success. And then, there is Jeremy Wariner, who looks like a 800 meter runner, but that first 300 meters is just plain scary–and from then on, when everyone else is collapsing, Wariner focuses on that finish.
Running for the silver, La Shawn Merrit challenged Wariner with 60 meters, to go, but had to give up pursuit, running a personal best of 43.96 for his gutty performance.
In third place, 2000 Olympic gold medalist at 400 m hurdles, Angelo Taylor ran a good 300 meters, but ran out of gas and held on for the bronze, in 44.32.
In fourth place, Chris Brown of the Bahamas ran 44.45 for a national record! In fifth place, France’s Leslie Djhone, who had set a French national record in the semis, took sixth here tonight, in 44.59. Canada’s Tyler Christopher, the defending bronze medalist at 400 meters, was in the hunt for 300 meters, but just did not have the next gear, and ran 44.71 for sixth. In seventh, Johan Wissman of Sweden, who ran two National records for his country, just to make the final, ran a very good 44.72.
Avard Moncur of the Bahamas, the 2001 gold medalist, ran an uninspired race, taking eighth in 45.40!
In the final analysis, Jeremy Wariner, who had been beat up in the 200 meters all season long, performed on the day, and took on the best in the world. Dominating the 400 meters? We need a new word for it. Perhaps, now, Jeremy Wariner should be called the global champion, which is what he is!
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