- LaShawn Merritt
LaShawn Merritt (born June 27, 1986) is an American sprinter who specializes in the
400 meters . LaShawn is a native of city-state|Portsmouth|Virginia where he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. LaShawn spent one year as a college athlete atEast Carolina University before signing an endorsement contract with Nike, making him no longer eligible to compete in an NCAA event. He is currently enrolled atOld Dominion University inNorfolk ,Virginia . [http://www.usatf.org/athletes/bios/Merritt_LaShawn.asp LaShawn Merritt] Merritt claimed the silver medal at the2007 World Championships in Athletics in Osaka.Merritt won the 400m at the
2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. A close race between Merritt andJeremy Wariner was expected, [Citation |last=Forde |first=Pat |title=Hold on to your medals ... The Dash is checking in from Beijing |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/summer08/columns/story?columnist=forde_pat&id=3523021 |publisher=ESPN |date=2008-08-08 |accessdate=2008-08-08] though it ultimately ended in a rout. The margin between Merritt's first-place finish and Wariner's second-place finish was the largest in an Olympic 400m final. [Citation |last=Hersh |first=Philip |title=In the men's 400 meters, LaShawn Merritt's a fast learner |url=http://www.latimes.com/sports/olympics/la-sp-olymentrack22-2008aug22,0,7811586.story |publisher="Los Angeles Times " |date=2008-08-21 |accessdate=2008-08-21] His time of 43.75 makes him the fifth fastest 400m runner in history. [ [http://www.iaaf.org/statistics/toplists/inout=O/age=N/season=0/sex=M/all=y/legal=A/disc=400/detail.htmx IAAF International Association of Athletics Federations - IAAF.org - Statistics - Top Lists] ]Achievements
Personal bests - Outdoor
*
100 meters - 10.38 s (2004)
*200 meters - 19.98 s (2007)
*300 meters - 31.31 s (2006)
*400 meters - 43.75 s (2008)Personal bests - Indoor
*
60 meters - 6.68 s (2006)
*200 meters - 20.40 s (2005)
*300 meters - 31.94 s (2006)
*400 meters - 44.93 s (2005)
*500 meters - 1:03.38 (2006)References
External links
*iaaf name|id=199606|name=LaShawn Merritt [http://www.lashawnmerrittusa.com Official Web Site of LaShawn Merritt]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
