Merritt's embracing new role as a marked sprinter

By PAT GRAHAM AP Sports Writer

Over an activity-filled offseason, sprinter LaShawn Merritt dabbled in runway modeling, met rap mogul Jay-Z at a Barack Obama rally, hosted a track meet for kids and had a parade thrown in his honor.

Yet one thought kept zipping around the Olympic gold medalist’s mind: Jeremy Wariner is coming after him.

Merritt dethroned the defending Olympic champion in the 400 at the Summer Games in Beijing, pulling away as Wariner faded mightily down the stretch.

Now, Merritt’s a marked sprinter.

Time to step his game up even more.

“I know he’s working hard,” Merritt said of Wariner.

And making changes.

Wariner rejoined his longtime coach Clyde Hart after a split in January 2008 led to a year in which Merritt not only closed the gap, but blew right on by.

“I wanna get back my ranking, and defend my title,” Wariner said. “I wanna show people that last year was just an off year for me, that I didn’t run the way I should’ve.”

However, the race between these two rivals will have to wait. Wariner won’t race in the 400 at the U.S. championships this week. As the defending 2007 world champion, he automatically receives a spot into the event later this summer in Berlin. Instead, Wariner will opt for the 200 in Eugene.

Not that Merritt’s breathing any easier. He’s facing a formidable field in the 400, including the likes of Beijing bronze medalist David Neville.

“Now that I proved I could be No. 1, I have to keep it,” Merritt said. “I’m more dedicated. I didn’t run a perfect race to win (in Beijing). There’s room for improvement … I have to stay hungry, stay humble.”

And stay alert.

These days, Wariner is lurking.

Down the road, it could Usain Bolt, who has made overtures of possibly experimenting with the 400 someday.

Merritt’s feeling on Bolt sauntering into his race is quite succinct – bring it. The presence of the Jamaican sensation wouldn’t intimidate Merritt.

“Just another competitor, another person in the race, another person I’ll just have to beat,” he said.

Merritt had a confidence-elevating season in 2008, solving Wariner’s supremacy over him. He snapped Wariner’s nine-race winning streak in Berlin, a result that turned heads simply because nobody had really challenged Wariner since he won the Olympic gold four years ago.

Then Merritt won at the Olympic trials and again in Beijing.

Like that, the rivalry was on.

“I never thought he couldn’t be beat,” Merritt said. “I felt like nobody’s invincible. It was a matter of time.”

Merritt now has Wariner’s complete attention.

Always has.

“LaShawn’s a great competitor,” said Wariner, who joined forces with Merritt to help secure the 1,600-meter relay title in Beijing. “He’s getting better every year. I know for me to get on top I have to work hard. I have to work hard because I know he’s working hard … LaShawn’s out there trying to win, trying to get titles. I respect that. I’m the same kind of guy. I go out there, work hard, never give up, no matter what.”

It was quite a whirlwind winter for Merritt.

First, there was the victory parade in his hometown of Portsmouth, Va. Merritt was given red-carpet treatment as kids lined the streets to greet him, thrusting anything and everything in his direction to sign.

He obliged every request, honored and awed by the spectacle.

There, at the parade, Merritt had a chance to honor his late brother, Antwan, who died nearly 10 years ago after falling from a dorm room window at Shaw University. Merritt told the crowd how his brother was the impetus behind his success.

Still is.

“It’s a team, me and my brother,” he said.

The two were close, his older brother constantly pushing him in sports, even bribing him when he had to.

“He’d always say, ‘If you hit a home run, I’ll give you $5,”’ Merritt recalled. “But he never got a chance to see me do what I do now. I know he would’ve been there (in Beijing). We were doing this together.”

In December, Merritt started a foundation to help budding athletes gain more exposure. Through that, he held his first invitational track meet where nearly 900 kids competed.

He also did some modeling at a BET fashion show, showing off rapper T.I.’s latest line of clothing. So impressed was T.I., he invited Merritt back for a show in Miami.

Might Merritt stroll down the runway when he’s done sprinting down the track?

“People tell me I have a modeling look,” he said, laughing.

But that’s for later.

For now, his focus is on track.

He knows Wariner and Co. are coming.

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AP National Writer Eddie Pells contributed to this report.