LaShawn Merritt begins drive to bring home two gold medals

By Howard Fendrich

BEIJING

Reigning Olympic and world champion Jeremy Wariner and rival LaShawn Merritt easily qualified for the Summer Games' 400-meter semifinals Sunday night.

Both built big leads and jogged home to win their respective heats. Wariner won the last of seven heats in 45.23 seconds, while Merritt led the fifth heat in 44.96.

"No surprise. He's ready. I'm ready. Time to go," said Merritt, a Portsmouth native and Wilson High graduate. "We're here. It's the Olympic Games. It's time for a showdown - a throwdown."

Former Norfolk State runner Chris Brown of the Bahamas also advanced. He won his heat with a time of 44.79.

The once-invincible Wariner's biggest concern here figures to be Merritt, who beat him twice this year - including at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Wariner played down the rivalry, saying, "That's not on my mind right now."

The pair finished 1-2 at the 2007 world championships and own the year's two best times in the one-lap test of speed and endurance. Wariner has said he intends to break the world record of 43.18 set at the 1999 world championships by Michael

Johnson, who now serves as Wariner's manager.

The expected Merritt-Wariner match-up in Thursday's final is drawing great interest. Wariner is 14-3 against Merritt in head-to-head races both have finished, including two in Europe last month after Merritt's U.S. trials victory.

"My confidence was never shot," said Wariner, whose 43.86 in Paris on July 18 was the fastest in the world this year. "I know what I can do, and in the races I lost, I didn't execute the right way. That's all I've got to do is execute, and I think I'll be fine."

The 400 semifinals are Tuesday.

With Wariner taking gold, the United States swept the 400 medals at the 2004 Olympics.

David Neville, the third U.S. entrant here, also advanced Monday, finishing second in his heat in 45.22. He's been dealing with a sore Achilles' tendon and took the previous three days off.

"I thought I was going to be able to run a little bit slower," Neville said. "I did what I had to do and make it through."

Meanwhile, Jamaica's Usain Bolt returned to the Olympic track, qualifying for the 200 meters quarterfinal in his search for a golden triple.

The 100 champion and world record holder eased through his fifth race in four days, happy to let victory go to Rondell Sorillo from Trinidad and Tobago since the top three from each heat automatically advance.

Bolt's U.S. rivals Shawn Crawford and Wallace Spearmon also had little trouble advancing into the quarterfinals, although Walter Dix struggled throughout before finishing second in his heat.