Merritt sends out warning to Liu at US trials
Source: Agencies |
July 2, 2012, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
ARIES Merritt surpassed China's Liu Xiang for the fastest time in the world this year to win the 110-meter hurdles in 12.93 seconds on Saturday at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Oregon.
Merritt, the reigning indoor world 60-meter hurdles champion, cut his personal best by .10 of a second and came in under the prior season's best of 12.97 set by Liu on May 19 in Shanghai to secure his spot for London.
"To break 13 in the final like I did was just phenomenal," Merritt said. "I had a pretty decent start and I started building from there."
Only seven men have ever run faster in the event than Merritt did to take the US crown and only two of them, Liu and Cuban world record-holder Dayron Robles, will be in London.
Reigning outdoor world champion Jason Richardson was second in 12.98 with Jeffrey Porter third in 13.08 to take the final London spot on offer.
David Oliver, third at the 2008 Olympics, failed to reach London, finishing fifth in 13.17.
Reigning Olympic champion Robles, who was disqualified from last year's worlds final in South Korea, set the world record of 12.87 in 2008 but pulled out of two US meets earlier this month, with Cuban officials saying he was injured.
Liu, the 2004 Olympic champion who was forced to drop out of the opening heat at the Beijing Games due to tendinitis, has a career-best 12.88 from 2006 and a wind-aided 12.87 in Eugene on June 2 to beat Merritt and Richardson.
Elsewhere, Allyson Felix won the 200-meter sprint in a personal-best 21.69 seconds.
Felix finished well ahead of Carmelita Jeter in 22.11 and Sanya Richards-Ross in 22.22.
The seventh day of the Olympic trials started with Trevor Barron's American record of 1 hour, 23 minutes in the 20-kilometer race walk.
But still hanging over the whole event was last weekend's third-place tie in the women's 100 meters, and it put all the attention on the 200.
Felix and training partner Jeneba Tarmoh finished in a dead heat that caught US track officials off-guard with no policy in place to resolve it.
USA track and field announced a tiebreaking procedure the next day, but Bobby Kersee, coach of both women, said he wanted to wait until after Saturday's 200 to decide how to break the tie, either by a runoff, coin flip, or if one athlete concedes.
A decision was expected today, the final day of the trials.
Merritt, the reigning indoor world 60-meter hurdles champion, cut his personal best by .10 of a second and came in under the prior season's best of 12.97 set by Liu on May 19 in Shanghai to secure his spot for London.
"To break 13 in the final like I did was just phenomenal," Merritt said. "I had a pretty decent start and I started building from there."
Only seven men have ever run faster in the event than Merritt did to take the US crown and only two of them, Liu and Cuban world record-holder Dayron Robles, will be in London.
Reigning outdoor world champion Jason Richardson was second in 12.98 with Jeffrey Porter third in 13.08 to take the final London spot on offer.
David Oliver, third at the 2008 Olympics, failed to reach London, finishing fifth in 13.17.
Reigning Olympic champion Robles, who was disqualified from last year's worlds final in South Korea, set the world record of 12.87 in 2008 but pulled out of two US meets earlier this month, with Cuban officials saying he was injured.
Liu, the 2004 Olympic champion who was forced to drop out of the opening heat at the Beijing Games due to tendinitis, has a career-best 12.88 from 2006 and a wind-aided 12.87 in Eugene on June 2 to beat Merritt and Richardson.
Elsewhere, Allyson Felix won the 200-meter sprint in a personal-best 21.69 seconds.
Felix finished well ahead of Carmelita Jeter in 22.11 and Sanya Richards-Ross in 22.22.
The seventh day of the Olympic trials started with Trevor Barron's American record of 1 hour, 23 minutes in the 20-kilometer race walk.
But still hanging over the whole event was last weekend's third-place tie in the women's 100 meters, and it put all the attention on the 200.
Felix and training partner Jeneba Tarmoh finished in a dead heat that caught US track officials off-guard with no policy in place to resolve it.
USA track and field announced a tiebreaking procedure the next day, but Bobby Kersee, coach of both women, said he wanted to wait until after Saturday's 200 to decide how to break the tie, either by a runoff, coin flip, or if one athlete concedes.
A decision was expected today, the final day of the trials.
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