Right now, Merritt owns Wariner mentally.

[jazzcyclist]

Bullshit! Merritt didn't have a 43.5 in him on the day of the World Championship final. If he had, he would have run much easier than he did. I don't doubt that his goal was a 43.5 fitness level by the time he got to Berlin, but if that had been required to run 43.5 in Berlin in order to win gold, he would have gotten silver.

Mr. Cyclist, you have unfortunately misread what I stated. Mr. Merritt would have layed everything he had on the line in Berlin, which would have included everything he had to try to reach 43"5 shape. Mr. Merritt would not have been required to run 43"5 in Berlin, as nothing from any of his competitors pointed toward the requirement for him to run any faster than the world leading time leading up to Berlin in order to secure gold.

Are you saying that Merritt only trained up to the level of his competition based on their results leading up to Berlin? :? I find that hard to believe. I'm pretty confident that Merritt trained to go sub-44 regardless of what types of problems Wariner has been having the last couple of years. And I'm certain that Merritt would have gone sub-44 in Berlin if his legs would have been willing.

[3]

Mr. Merritt is simply running to win. He has trained to run a 43"5 this season, and would have layed it down when necessary. Perhaps he would have come up short, but that's the benchmark he was training for, despite not training to run any certain time this season.

Bullshit! Merritt didn't have a 43.5 in him on the day of the World Championship final. If he had, he would have run much easier than he did. I don't doubt that his goal was a 43.5 fitness level by the time he got to Berlin, but if that had been required to run 43.5 in Berlin in order to win gold, he would have gotten silver.

Mr. Cyclist, you have unfortunately misread what I stated. Mr. Merritt would have layed everything he had on the line in Berlin, which would have included everything he had to try to reach 43"5 shape. Mr. Merritt would not have been required to run 43"5 in Berlin, as nothing from any of his competitors pointed toward the requirement for him to run any faster than the world leading time leading up to Berlin in order to secure gold.

[jazzcyclist]

ALLSpeed wrote, "Merritt knows that if he is slighlty ahead of J.W. coming off the final turn, it's over. Wariner cannot respond as he has spent the first 300 meters stressing about where's LaShawn?"
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Wariner has been "outside" of Merritt while losing in some major meets. If Wariner ran in a lane "inside" of Merritt, who could then be observed by Wariner, the result might be different.

I don't see where lane assignment was a factor in this race. Both Merritt and Wariner got their pacing about right for the first 200. And if Wariner had gone out harder, he would have faded even more in the homestretch. An inside lane would not have made his legs any fresher. Either you have it or you don't and Wariner just didn't have it in the Berlin final.

[nunusguy]

I dunno, has JW ever competitively run the 800 ? Or is there even any time recorded for him for that event ?

[James Fields]

ALLSpeed wrote, "Merritt knows that if he is slighlty ahead of J.W. coming off the final turn, it's over. Wariner cannot respond as he has spent the first 300 meters stressing about where's LaShawn?"
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Wariner has been "outside" of Merritt while losing in some major meets. If Wariner ran in a lane "inside" of Merritt, who could then be observed by Wariner, the result might be different.

[jazzcyclist]

Mr. Merritt is simply running to win. He has trained to run a 43"5 this season, and would have layed it down when necessary. Perhaps he would have come up short, but that's the benchmark he was training for, despite not training to run any certain time this season.

Bullshit! Merritt didn't have a 43.5 in him on the day of the World Championship final. If he had, he would have run much easier than he did. I don't doubt that his goal was a 43.5 fitness level by the time he got to Berlin, but if that had been required to run 43.5 in Berlin in order to win gold, he would have gotten silver.

[3]

Mr. Merritt is simply running to win. He has trained to run a 43"5 this season, and would have layed it down when necessary. Perhaps he would have come up short, but that's the benchmark he was training for, despite not training to run any certain time this season.

[jazzcyclist]

The thing to remember is that Merritt hasn't gone to places that Wariner has never been before. If all Wariner did was maintain his 2007 form, he would still own Merritt and be a 5-time global champion. Hell, Merritt has yet to reproduce his 2008 form, which means that Wariner doesn't have as much work to do as he might have if Merritt had continued to improve. I'd rather be Wariner than Tyson Gay. Wariner only needs to figure out why he's regressed over the last couple of years, while Gay has improved his PR by 0.13s over the last two years and Usain Bolt is still nowhere in sight.

[xxx]

For Jeremy to get back on top, he has to get mentally stronger. Just take a look at his relay leg in Berlin!! Now that looked like the old J.W.

Merritt knows that if he is slighlty ahead of J.W. coming off the final turn, it's over. Wariner cannot respond as he has spent the first 300 meters stressing about where's LaShawn?

I've been trying to assess what it is about Merritt that prevents me from warming up to him as the champ and here it is:

He's beating JW at less than his best and his times would have left him off the podium at the 1988 olympics. Who's excited about 44s ? Run 43.6 - 7 consistently and then we can talk.

Thoughts?