Posted: August 17, 2007

Athletics: U.S. men looking for sweep in 400 meters at Osaka

INDIANAPOLIS - Reigning World and Olympic 400m champion Jeremy Wariner headlines the talented group of U.S. men who will be aiming for gold in the 400 meters at the 2007 IAAF World Outdoor Championships in Athletics in Osaka, Japan, August 25-September 2. In the history of the World Championships, the U.S. has dominated the 400m, winning 16 medals, including seven golds. Team USA has finished 1-2 in the 400m at four World Championships, but has never swept all three medals. The team of Wariner, reigning U.S. champion Angelo Taylor, LaShawn Merritt and Lionel Larry seems poised to threaten a sweep in Osaka. Wariner, Taylor and Merritt own the 11 fastest times in the world this year, while Larry is the seventh-fastest man overall. At the 2005 World Championships, Wariner ran 43.93 seconds to win the gold, while fellow American Andrew Rock was second in 44.35. In 2007, Wariner tops the world list with his personal-best 43.50, which he ran August 7 in Stockholm, Sweden. His performance made him the third-fastest man all-time, behind only world record-holder Michael Johnson and former world record-holder Butch Reynolds. Angelo Taylor ran a personal-best 44.05 to earn his second U.S. title in the 400m and his fifth national title overall. The 2000 Olympic gold medalist in the 400m hurdles, Taylor will try to win his first individual medal at the World Championships. He anchored the winning 4x400m relays at the 1999 and 2001 World Championships. This year, LaShawn Merritt has posted five times under 44.45, with his best of 44.06 coming in his runner-up finish at the 2007 AT&T USA Outdoor Championships. Since then, Merritt has recorded wins at Paris, Rome and Monaco, and was second at London. Merritt finished 2006 ranked #3 in the world and #2 in the U.S. University of Southern California standout Lionel Larry rounds out the impressive U.S. team. At just 20 years old, Larry ran a personal-best 44.67 in the semifinals at the USA Outdoor Championships. He followed that up with a 44.84 in the finals to finish third. Larry was also the runner-up at this year's NCAA Outdoor Championships. Fans can watch Team USA on national television broadcasts on NBC and Versus, or online via live, daily webcast at www.wcsn.com. For complete TV listings, visit http://www.usatf.org/events/2007/IAAFWorldOutdoorChampionships/TVSchedule.asp. For more information on Team USA at the World Outdoor Championships, visit USATF.org. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest