byLarry EderAries Merritt has touched the sun, so to speak. In athletics, there are no higher accolades than winning the Olympic gold medal, and then, setting a world record. Aries Merritt has done both.
And then, the nightmare years began. Two years of issues in 2013 and 2014. In Moscow, in 2013, Aries Merritt finished sixth in the World Champs final. Aries Merritt discovered that something was wrong. He knew what fitness level was needed to be at the top of the 110 meter hurdles, perhaps, the most competitive event in the men’s track schedule under 400 meters. Aries Merritt just could not get there. Something had to be wrong.
Aries Merritt, photo by PhotoRun.net
The challenge, dear readers, is to maintain high levels of fitness, or, after injuries, to regain such fitness. Reaching the highest level of our sports requires that athletes train and race at very high levels. It also requires the fine tuning of recovery days. As highly trained athletes are always a cold or fall away from an injury, they always have to be every mindful of the the injury pitfalls.
For Aries Merritt, it was not an injury per se, it was a series of medical nightmeres.
A rare, genetic kidney ailment took away his fitness, along with other medical complications, but not his spirit. In 2015, after taking the bronze medal in the 110m hurdles, Aries Merritt had a kidney transplant from his sister, three days after taking the bronze medal. The surgery was a success, but, another surgery was needed to properly place the kidney.
Returning to world class stature is something for one in a million. Actually, consider this for a moment. In a country of 313 million, there are less than 12 men who can run under 13.24, a world class time. To make an Olympic or World team, an athlete should be capable of 13.12 or 13.14, depending on how may hurdles were knocked down.
The 110 meter hurdles is a even that requires great sprinting skills, greater hurdling skills and precision. In this day and age, hit a hurdle and you are fighting for second place.
In 2016, Aries Merritt will himself to fitness. He had a short time to train, as he was recovering from two surgeries, but he made to the Olympic Trials final. Merritt missed the team by .01, finishing fourth in 13. 22. Later, we found out that his medical team had not recommended that he even try to get back in 2016.
Aries Merritt is a student of the sport. He is a student of the event. He knows that his fitness has to be precise, his hurdling near perfection, and he knows when his racing is, well, ‘on”. This past winter, I spoke with him in Birmingham, and he was just getting back to racing. Merritt told RunBlogrun then, that he would race himself into shape in 2017.
In Rome on June 8, Aries Merritt showed his finest racing in over two years, running 13.13, his second fine time of the year, but his most skillful hurdling and racing, taking Orlando Ortega, Sergey Shubenkov, Andrew Pozzi and David Oliver all in one race.
In typical Aries Merritt fashion, Mr. Merritt noted that there were things to improve in the race. We can not wait to see Aries Merritt continue to improve his fitness. On to Sacramento.
Please enjoy the video from the IAAF Diamond League.
