Aries Merritt (born July 24, 1985) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 110 metre hurdles, and currently holds the world record in that event with a time of 12.80 s set on September 7, 2012.[2][3] He won the gold medal in the 110 metre hurdles at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
 Merritt at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born | July 24, 1985 Chicago, Illinois |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)[1] |
| Weight | 158 lb (72 kg)[1] |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Running |
| Event | Hurdles |
| College team | Tennessee Volunteers |
| Updated on 28 August 2015 | |
Background
editBorn in Chicago, Illinois, he moved to Marietta, Georgia at a young age, attending Joseph Wheeler High School, where he was teammates with Reggie Witherspoon. Merritt ran for the University of Tennessee from 2003 to 2006 and had a successful college career, a seven-time All-American. He took the 110 meter hurdles gold at the 2004 World Junior Championships and finished sixth at the 2006 World Athletics Final. Also in 2006, he won the NCAA Championships, Indoors and Outdoors and was undefeated in all hurdles events that year. He broke Willie Gault's Tennessee Volunteers hurdles record. His victory at the NCAA Championships in 13.21 s was the second fastest ever collegiate time in the United States, behind only Renaldo Nehemiah. He reached the World Athletics Final in 2008, finishing in fourth. Merritt is the first hurdler to ever win gold in the US Indoor Championship, the World Indoor Championship (Istanbul, Turkey), the US Olympic Trials, and the Olympic Games all in the same year.
Professional athletics career
edit2011
editIn the final of the 110m hurdles at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Merritt was initially classified 6th, with a time of 13.67 s. After Dayron Robles was disqualified, Merritt was promoted to 5th. His season's best was 13.12 s, achieved in Eugene, Oregon and Oslo.
2012
editMerritt began the 2012 campaign by altering his approach to the first hurdle, switching from eight to seven steps.[4] In an interview he stated, "[it] was pretty risky to make a change like that, but something had to be done if I was going to compete with (Liu Xiang of China and Dayron Robles of Cuba). The change allows me to maintain my momentum going into the first barrier." Merrit's change was highly successful for the 2012 indoor season as he became the indoor world champion in the 60 meters hurdles at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in Istanbul. In the final, he beat Liu Xiang and Pascal Martinot-Lagarde with a time of 7.44 s.
2012 Summer Olympics
editAt the Olympic trials in Oregon, Merritt won the 110 meter hurdles final in a world leading time of 12.93 s,[5] making the Olympic team for the first time. Merritt subsequently matched the time at two consecutive Diamond League events, at Crystal Palace and Monaco, winning both races.
At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Merritt began by running the fastest qualifying time in the heats with a time of 13.07 s. In the semi-finals, he was again dominant with a time of 12.94 s. In the final, Dayron Robles and Merritt got the fastest starts but Merritt pulled ahead at hurdle 3. He continued to a personal best of 12.92 s and a 0.12 s win over reigning world champion Jason Richardson.[6][7]
World record
editOn September 7, 2012, at the final Diamond League meet (Memorial Van Damme) in Brussels, Belgium, Merritt ran a time of 12.80 s in the 110 meter hurdles, shattering the old world record of 12.87 s held by Dayron Robles. Merritt's performance was the largest drop in the world record for 110 meter hurdles (0.07 s) since Nehemiah in 1981.[8] Merrit ran consistently throughout the 2012 season. The following are his times that lead-up to his world record performance in the 110 meter hurdles:
| Meet | Date | Time |
|---|---|---|
| 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials (final) | June 30, 2012 | 12.93 |
| Aviva London Grand Prix | July 13, 2012 | 12.93 |
| Herculis | July 20, 2012 | 12.93 |
| 2012 Summer Olympics (final) | August 8, 2012 | 12.92 |
| Aviva Birmingham Grand Prix | August 26, 2012 | 12.95 |
| Internationales Stadionfest | September 2, 2012 | 12.97 |
| Belgacom Memorial Van Damme | September 7, 2012 | 12.80 |
2013
editMerritt finished 6th at the World Championships. After the competition, he felt very ill and was diagnosed with collapsing focal segmental glomerulosclerosis, a rare congenital kidney disease,[9] aggravated by a parvovirus that had attacked his kidneys and bone marrow.[10] After several months of medical treatment, he was eventually able to return to competition on the following year, albeit far from his previous registers.[11]
2015
editMerrit's recovery from his kidney problems was enough to allow him to finish third in the USATF Outdoor Championships in June, obtaining a place for the World Championship.[12] On 28 August he won the bronze medal in the 110m hurdles, just four days before undergoing a scheduled kidney transplant.[11][13]
2017
editHe won the 2017 IAAF Diamond League 110m hurdles in Rome on June 8, 2017.
2021
editMerritt sought to qualify for the pandemic-delayed Tokyo Olympics in 2021 but did not succeed.[14]
Post-retirement
editMerritt served as an assistant coach for sprints and hurdles at Brown University 2022-2024.[15] In the fall of 2024 he was hired as an assistant coach at Texas State University.
Personal bests
edit| Event | Best | Location | Date | Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55 meters hurdles | 7.10 s | Gainesville, Florida, United States | January 21, 2006 | |
| 60 meters hurdles | 7.43 s | Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States | February 26, 2012 | |
| 110 meters hurdles | 12.80 s | Brussels, Belgium | September 7, 2012 | WR |
| 200 meters | 21.46 s | Bloomington, Indiana, United States | January 7, 2006 | |
| 400 meters hurdles | 51.94 s | Knoxville, Tennessee, United States | April 9, 2004 |
International competition record
edit| Year | Competition | Venue | Position | Event | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Representing United States | |||||
| 2004 | World Junior Championships | Grosseto, Italy | 1st | 110 m hurdles | 13.56 (wind: -0.6 m/s) |
| 2009 | World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 27th (h) | 13.70 | |
| 2011 | World Championships | Daegu, South Korea | 5th | 13.67 | |
| 2012 | World Indoor Championships | Istanbul, Turkey | 1st | 60 m hurdles | 7.44 |
| Olympic Games | London, United Kingdom | 110 m hurdles | 12.92 | ||
| 2013 | World Championships | Moscow, Russia | 6th | 13.31 | |
| 2015 | World Championships | Beijing, China | 3rd | 13.04 | |
| 2017 | World Championships | London, United Kingdom | 5th | 13.31 | |
| 2018 | World Indoor Championships | Birmingham, United Kingdom | 4th | 60 m hurdles | 7.56 |
Track records
editAs of 11 September 2024, Merritt holds the following track records for 110 metres hurdles.
| Location | Time | Windspeed m/s |
Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin | 12.97 | + 1.2 | 02/09/2012 |
| Birmingham, UK | 12.95 | – 0.9 | 26/08/2012 |
| Brussels | 12.80 WR |
+ 0.3 | 07/09/2012 |
| London | 12.92 | – 0.3 | 08/08/2012 |
| Lugano | 13.29 | + 1.9 | 12/06/2009 |
| Monaco | 12.93 | 0.0 | 20/07/2012 |
| Nashville, TN | 13.30 | + 1.9 | 21/04/2007 |
| Tempe | 13.29 | 0.0 | 11/04/2015 |
References
edit- ^ a b "Aries Merritt". teamusa.org. USOC. Archived from the original on September 1, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
- ^ "Aries MERRITT | Profile | World Athletics".
- ^ "110m Hurdles Men". Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
- ^ "Aries Merritt's risky change helps him step into Olympics". USA Today. July 23, 2012.
- ^ Video on YouTube
- ^ Long, Mark (August 8, 2012). "Aries Merritt Wins 110-Meter Hurdles Gold, Jason Richardson Takes Silver". The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ "Aries Merritt claims 110m hurdles Olympic gold". Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
- ^ "Aries Merritt: Greatest of All-Time | 2012 Brussels Diamond League: Memorial van Damme | Flotrack". Archived from the original on December 25, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
- ^ Clarey, Christopher (August 28, 2015). "Days Before Kidney Transplant, Aries Merritt Wins Bronze in Hurdles". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ Rosen, Karen (May 4, 2016). "After Kidney Transplant, Olympic Champion Aries Merritt Has Heart Set On Rio Gold". TeamUSA.org. United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
- ^ a b Mulkeen, John (August 20, 2015). "Merritt is on the road to recovery after life threatening illness". IAAF.org.
- ^ "USA Track & Field - Results - FULL". Legacy.usatf.org. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
- ^ Graham, Pat (August 26, 2015). "Right after world championships, American hurdler Aries Merritt will undergo kidney transplant". Daily Reporter. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved September 1, 2015.
- ^ "Aries Merritt hopes to make Tokyo Olympics his last". NBC Sports. April 25, 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
- ^ "Brown Bears Podcast: World Record Holder Aries Merritt, Assistant Coach, Track & Field". Brown University Athletics. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
External links
edit- Aries Merritt at World Athletics
- Aries Merritt at legacy.USATF.org (archived)
- Aries Merritt at DyeStat