Wariner, Merritt to resume 400-meter duel at Olympics

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BEIJING -- For awhile there Jeremy Wariner looked unbeatable.The young Texan won double gold in the 400 meters and as anchor on the 4 x 400 relay at the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He duplicated that at the 2005 World Championships, then repeated it at the 2007 World Championships.Back then it looked like Wariner had only one real rival.43.18.That's Michael Johnson's world record.But two months ago, a confident young runner from Virginia showed up over in Berlin and beat Wariner at his own game. Lashawn Merritt outran the former Baylor runner, 44.03 to 44.07.Six weeks later at the Olympic Trials in Eugene, Merritt beat Wariner again 44 flat to 44.02.Wariner came back and ran a 43.98 five days later in Oslo and then after his loss at the trials, he outran Merritt in Rome and Paris.Now here they are again on their sport's biggest stage.Let's get ready to rumbllllllllllllllllllle.Both Wariner and Merritt won their heat races easily on Monday as the buildup began for Wednesday's Battle in the Bird's Nest."I'm ready. He's ready. It's time to showdown and throw down," Merritt said. "He's going to bring his 'A' game, and so am I. It's going to be a dogfight. Let the best man win."While Merritt made it obvious that Wariner was on his mind, Wariner shrugged off any talk about Merritt. "That's not on my mind right now," he said. "There are other athletes out there that can run just as fast as we can. You saw that in the first round with a lot of 44s. It looks like it's going to be a fast final."That's something they can agree on."I feel that eight of the best in the world are going to line up in the finals, and you can't county anybody out," Merritt said.Especially those super fast Jamaicans who have already won gold in both the men's and women's 100 meters and are talking about sweeping gold in the 100, 200 and 4 x 100 relays.But racing a full length around the track could favor the Americans.The 400 looks to be a two-horse race with both ponies coming from the USA.Merritt said his plans are to come out and run the "as fast as I ever did (43.96).Wariner has one goal and it is gold.Both are confident."I train to win, and when I do win, I get a big confidence boost. But when I don't do so well, it motivates me also. Every time when I get off the track, I am hungrier than when I was before I got up there," Merritt explained.Wariner said his "confidence was never shot" in the two losses to his rival."I knew what I could do. In the races I lost, I didn't execute the right way. That's all I have to do, execute and I'll be fine."Don't equate rivalry with dislike.Wariner vs. Merritt is only on the track, not off."I don't call him and say 'Do you want to go here or go there?' but the respect is there," Merritt said. "We know each other's style. He's a great athlete, and he knows I'm coming, he knows I'm great."He's not going to count me out, and I'm not going to count him out. Neither of us are poor sportsmen. We are both Americans. Love and respect are there.""It helps to have a competitor who runs just as fast and just as strong. He's a great competitor," Wariner said. "He's fierce and he's out there to win. It helps me to go out there and work harder than what I would before, just to stay on top."So, as T.O. would say, get your popcorn ready. The show is about to begin.Nick Gholson writes for the Wichita Falls Times Record News in Wichita Falls, Texas. E-mail him at gholsonn(at)timesrecordnews.com