LaShawn Merritt (born June 27, 1986) is a retired American

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

athlete who competed in sprinting events, specializing in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

. He is a former

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece bet ...

champion over the distance and his personal best of 43.65 seconds makes him the eleventh fastest of all time. Merritt was a successful junior athlete and won the 400 m gold at the

2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2004 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Grosseto, Italy on 12–18 July. Results Men Women Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, 1261 athletes from 168 count ...

, as well as setting two world junior records in the relays. He became part of the American

4 × 400 meter relay 4 (four) is a number, numeral (linguistics), numeral and numerical digit, digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is a square number, the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is tetraphobia, considered unlucky i ...

team and helped win the event at the

2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 11th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) was held in Moscow from March 10 to March 12, 2006 in the Olympic Stadium (Moscow arena), Olimpiyski Sport are ...

. He established himself individually in 2007 by winning a

silver medal A silver medal, in sports and other similar areas involving competition, is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, ...

in the 400 m at the 2007 World Championships. He came out on top of a rivalry with

Jeremy Wariner Jeremy Matthew Wariner (born January 31, 1984) is a retired American track athlete specializing in the 400 meters. He has won four Olympic medals (three gold, one silver) and six World Championships medals. He is the joint sixth fastest comp ...

in 2008 by winning in the 2008 Olympic final in a personal best time, and by a record margin of 0.99 secs. He also broke the

Olympic record Olympic records are the best performances in a specific event in that event's history in either the Summer Olympic Games or the Winter Olympic Games. Summer Olympics * Archery at the Summer Olympics, Archery (List of Olympic records in archery, li ...

in the relay with the American team, recording the second fastest time ever. Merritt established himself as the World Champion with a win at the

2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15 to 23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenbu ...

in the 400 m and the 4 × 400 m relay. Merritt served a 21-month doping ban between 2009 and 2011 for unintential use of DHEA and pregnenolone.

Biography

Merritt is a native of

Portsmouth, Virginia Portsmouth is an Independent city (United States), independent city in southeastern Virginia, United States. It lies across the Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth River from Norfolk, Virginia, Norfolk. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

where he graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. He spent one year as a college athlete at

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university in Greenville, North Carolina, United States. It is the List of universities in North Carolina by enrollment, fourth largest university in North Carolina and the only one in the state with s ...

, signing an endorsement contract with

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

during his first season of indoor track, making him ineligible to compete in an NCAA event. Merritt then transferred to

Old Dominion University Old Dominion University (ODU) is a Public university, public research university in Norfolk, Virginia, United States. Established in 1930 as the two-year Norfolk Division of the College of William & Mary, it began by educating people with fewer ...

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

. He studied business administration at

Norfolk State University Norfolk State University (NSU) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black university in Norfolk, Virginia. It is a member of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund and Virginia High-Tech Partnersh ...

also located in Norfolk.

Early career

Merritt came to prominence as a junior athlete at the

. He took the gold medal in the 400 meters race and set two junior world records as part of the American 4 × 100 and 4 × 400 meter relay teams. He took part in the

2005 World Championships in Athletics The 10th World Championships in Athletics (, ), under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held in the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland (6 August 2005 – 14 August 2005), the site of the first ...

, his first major senior championship, and acted as the relay substitute for the men's 4 × 400 m. He helped the team win their heat and was substituted for

for the final, where the American team won the gold medal. He broke into the senior ranks in 2006, and was selected for the 4 × 400 m relay team for the

. Along with

Tyree Washington Tyree Washington (born August 28, 1976) is a retired American sprinter. Born in Riverside, California, Washington attended both La Sierra High School and San Bernardino Valley College. His coach during 2003 was Antonio Pettigrew, who ran alo ...

Milton Campbell Milton Campbell (born May 15, 1976) is a former track and field athlete from the United States who mainly competed in the 400 metres. His success comes during the indoor season. At the 1999 IAAF World Indoor Championships he set a world recor ...

and

Wallace Spearmon Wallace Spearmon Jr. (born December 24, 1984, in Chicago, Illinois, USA) is a retired American sprint athlete who specialized in the 200 meters. He is a two-time NCAA outdoor champion in the 200 m and won the silver medal in the eve ...

, he won the World Indoor title in the event. Outdoors, he improved his best to 44.14 seconds for a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receives ...

at the

2006 IAAF World Athletics Final The 4th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the ...

and was selected to represent the United States at the

2006 IAAF World Cup The 10th IAAF World Cup in Athletics was an international track and field sporting event, held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations, which took place on 16 and 17 September 2006 at the Olympic Stadium in At ...

, at which he won the 400 m competition. Prior to the 400 m final at the

2007 World Championships in Athletics The 11th World Championships in Athletics, () under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007. 200 of the IAAF's 212 member feder ...

Osaka is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the List of cities in Japan, third-most populous city in J ...

, Merritt stated his intent to beat all-comers. He achieved his first sub-44 second run, finishing in 43.96, and beat 2000 Olympic champion

Angelo Taylor Angelo F. Taylor (born December 29, 1978) is an American track and field athlete, winner of 400-meter hurdles at the 2000 and 2008 Summer Olympics. His personal record for the hurdles event is 47.25 seconds. His time puts him in a tie with ...

to the line. However, this was not enough to beat the reigning World and Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner, who was half a second ahead. Nevertheless, the

was Merritt's first at a global championships over the 400 m. He again formed part of the United States' 4 × 400 meter relay team and, with fellow individual medallists Wariner and Taylor among the team, the American's eased to victory some three and a half seconds ahead of the

Bahamians Bahamians are people originating or having roots from The Commonwealth of The Bahamas. One can also become a Bahamian by acquiring citizenship. History Culture Olympic Games World Championships in Athletics List * Sidney Poitier, fi ...

. With Wariner absent from the field, Merritt won the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have b ...

at the

2007 IAAF World Athletics Final The 5th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion in Stuttgart, Germany on September 22 and September 23, 2007. Results Men Women See also * 2007 in athletics (track and field) References ;Results2007 IAAF Wo ...

Olympic champion and Wariner duels

Merritt's 2008 season was marked by an intense rivalry with Wariner, who had won the 400 m at every major global championship since 2004. The 2008 IAAF Golden League provided the venue for many of their duels.Wenig, Jörg (2008-09-13)
Merritt vs. Wariner 2008 – final score: Merritt 4, Wariner 3

IAAF World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation and International Association of Athletics Federations and formerly abbreviated as the IAAF, is the international sports governing body, governing body for the sport ...

. Retrieved on 2010-04-27. He scored his first major win over Wariner in a close affair at the

Internationales Stadionfest The Internationales Stadionfest (ISTAF) is an annual track and field Sport of athletics, athletics meeting at the Olympiastadion (Berlin), Olympic Stadium in Berlin, Germany. It was first held in July 1921 at the Deutsches Stadion (Berlin), Deut ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

. He confirmed his Olympic place a month later by winning at the 2008 United States Olympic Trials, again defeating the reigning Olympic champion Wariner. Later in July at the

Golden Gala Golden Gala is an annual Track and field, track and field event normally held at the Stadio Olimpico, Olympic Stadium in Rome, Italy. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamond League. Following the 2013 deat ...

meeting, Wariner responded by edging a win in the 400 m by just 0.01 seconds. At the

Meeting Gaz de France Meeting de Paris (formerly known as the Meeting Areva and Meeting Gaz de France) is an annual track and field meeting at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it is now part of the Diamo ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the last Golden League competition before the Olympics, Wariner seemed to have the momentum behind him after a win in 43.86 seconds. Merrittfinish400

Merritt won the 400 m at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

in Beijing. A close race between Merritt and Wariner was expected, though it ultimately ended in a rout. The 0.99-second margin between Merritt's first-place finish and Wariner's second-place finish was the largest in an Olympic 400 m final. His time of 43.75, a new personal best, made him the fifth fastest 400 m runner on the all-time lists, still two places behind Wariner, who is third on the all-time list of fastest runners.400 Metres All Time

(2009-10-13). Retrieved on 2010-04-27. He teamed up with Wariner, Angelo Taylor and 400 m bronze medallist David Neville for the men's 4 × 400 m relay. The team defeated the

mark which had stood since the

1992 Barcelona Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

by running a time of 2:55.39, the second fastest in the history of the event. Weeks after the Olympics, he lost to Wariner by a large margin at the

Weltklasse Zürich Weltklasse Zürich () is an annual, invitation-only, world-class track and field meeting at the Letzigrund in Zürich, Switzerland, generally held at the end of August or beginning of September. Previously one of the IAAF Golden League events, it ...

, although Wariner's winning time of 43.82 seconds was still slower than Merritt's Olympic winning run. Merritt secured his fourth win over Wariner that season at the

2008 IAAF World Athletics Final The 6th IAAF World Athletics Final was held at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Stuttgart, Germany on September 13 and September 14, 2008. A number of road races also took place on the second day of competition. There were seven different starting poi ...

. Although the two had both beaten each other that season, Merritt had won all the most important races, ending the season as the Olympic and American champion over 400 m as well as taking home the World Athletics Final payday. He opted to miss out on the 2009 indoor season to focus on improving his running and technique.

2009 World Champion and doping ban

With Wariner already qualified for the World Championships as the defending champion, Merritt won the 400 m at the 2009 US Championships somewhat uncontested, equalling his own world leading time of 44.50 seconds. At the

, in

, he went on to win the 400 m in a world-leading time of 44.06 seconds, once again beating Wariner. In October 2010, Merritt was issued with 21-month competition ban backdated to October 2009 after testing positive three times for

DHEA Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), also known as androstenolone, is an endogenous steroid hormone precursor. It is one of the most abundant circulating steroids in humans. DHEA is produced in the adrenal glands, the gonads, and the brain. It functio ...

and

pregnenolone Pregnenolone (P5), or pregn-5-en-3β-ol-20-one, is an endogenous steroid and precursor/metabolic intermediate in the biosynthesis of most of the steroid hormones, including the progestogens, androgens, estrogens, glucocorticoids, and mineraloc ...

. The American Arbitration Association's ruling accepted Merritt had unintentionally consumed the banned substances contained within a male enhancement product called

ExtenZe ExtenZe is an herbal nutritional supplement claiming to promote "natural male enhancement", a euphemism for penis enlargement. ExtenZe paid $6 million to settle a class-action false advertising lawsuit in 2010. Websites selling the product mak ...

2011: Return to the track

After serving his competition ban, Merritt finished second at the Stockholm meeting of the Diamond League series with a time of 44.74. He received a berth to the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea due to him being the 2009 World Champion for the 400 meters. At the 2011 World Championships, he set a world leading time of 44.35. He eventually won the silver medal behind teenager

Kirani James Sir Kirani Zeno James GCNG COG (born 1 September 1992) is a Grenadian professional sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. He won the 400 m at the World Championships in 2011 and won the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. In the ...

of Grenada, having led most of the race, but went on to run the final leg of the United States' gold medal-winning 4 × 400 m relay team having been in third place coming out of the final bend.

2012

Merritt was the number one qualifier at the 2012 Olympic Trials. Two weeks before the

events at the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, Merritt tweaked his hamstring in the

Herculis The Herculis is an annual track and field meet at Stade Louis II in Fontvieille, Monaco. Previously one of the five IAAF Super Grand Prix events. Herculis is now part of the Diamond League. Editions World records Over the course of its histo ...

meet in

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

. As a result of this injury he pulled up in a qualifying heat of the 400 m at the London Olympics and did not finish.

2016

Merritt qualified once again onto the US team for the 400 meters at the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad () and officially branded as Rio 2016, were an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with preliminary events i ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. He ran a very quick time of 43.85 but only managed to win the bronze medal behind defending Olympic champion,

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

, who won the silver medal with a time of 43.76, and

Wayde van Niekerk Wayde van Niekerk (South African English: , ; born 15 July 1992) is a South African track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 and 400 metres. In the 400 metres, he is the current world and Olympic record holder, having set the rec ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, who won the gold medal with a new world record time of 43.03.

2017

Merritt announced his retirement following the

2017 World Championships in Athletics The 2017 IAAF World Championships, the sixteenth edition of the IAAF World Championships, were held from 4 to 13 August at London Stadium in London, United Kingdom. London was officially awarded the championships on 11 November 2011. Bidding p ...

Personal bests

* All information taken from IAAF profile. Merritt is one of only six men in history to have broken 20 seconds for the 200 metres and 44 seconds for the 400 metres, the other men being Michael Johnson,

Isaac Makwala Isaac Makwala (born 24 September 1985) is a Botswana sprinter who specializes in the 400 metres. Career He was the gold medallist at the Commonwealth Games in 2018. He has also won continental titles at the distance, winning at the 2015 Af ...

, Wayde Van Niekerk, Michael Norman, and

Fred Kerley Fredrick Lee Kerley ( ; born May 7, 1995) is an American track and field sprinter. He was the Olympic silver medalist over 100 m at the 2020 Olympics and bronze medalist at the 2024 Olympics in the same event. Kerley has earned an additional s ...

. His personal best of 43.65 seconds for the 400 metres, set in Beijing on 26 August 2015, was the fastest non-winning time in history until the 2024 Olympic final where

Matthew Hudson-Smith Matthew Hudson-Smith (born 26 October 1994) is a British track and field sprinter who specialises in the 400 metres and is the 5th fastest athlete of all-time over the distance. In September 2024 he was ranked as the number one 400 m runner in ...

lowered this record to 43.44 seconds.

Achievements

Track records

As of September 2024, Merritt holds the following track records for 200 metres and 400 metres.

200 metres

400 metres

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merritt, Lashawn 1986 births Living people African-American track and field athletes American male sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics East Carolina Pirates men's track and field athletes Old Dominion University alumni Olympic gold medalists for the United States in track and field Sportspeople from Portsmouth, Virginia Track and field athletes from Virginia Woodrow Wilson High School (Portsmouth, Virginia) alumni World Athletics Championships medalists Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for the United States Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in track and field Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Diamond League winners USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships winners World Athletics Indoor Championships winners IAAF Continental Cup winners World Athletics Championships winners IAAF World Athletics Final winners 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen