Editor's note: The men's 400 meters has been contested on 26 occasions in Olympic competition, with Team USA winning an astounding 19 gold medals, 12 silver and 10 bronze, and those totals should increase in Beijing following a sweep of the medals at last year's World Championships in Osaka. At approximately 9:20 a.m. (U.S. time) Thursday, LaShawn Merritt tries to become the 20th American to bring home the gold. (Watch for results in the track and field channel.)

In this blog entry, Merritt talks about his big day, including going for the record.

Semifinal race

I have a lot left. I just tried to run a smart race so I wasn’t giving it my all. I just wanted to set my race up so I could come home smooth. And that’s what I did.

Jeremy Wariner

Being that we’re all on the same fitness level, it’s going to come down to who runs a smarter race. I have to look on what I can improve on and what he did. And I know he’s going to look at what I did.

The world record

At the Olympics, weird things happen. Guys run faster than they’ve ever run before because it’s the Olympics.

The world record would be nice but it’s not in my schedule for this year. If it happens, it happens. I want to be an Olympic champion and it’s going to be about executing and crossing that finish line first.

The crowds

The crowds here have been amazing. I’ve never been in front of a crowd this big. It can scare some people and it can help others. It definitely helps me out.

Preparing for the finals

You have to run your race but you also have to know who takes it out and who finishes strong.

Nothing is guaranteed and that’s why I say anything can happen on any given day. So I just have to be smart about things.

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