EUGENE, Ore. — Jeremy Wariner has been ranked No. 1 in the world in the 400 meters since the slender Texan burst onto the track scene in 2004, winning an Olympic gold medal before he left Baylor and turned pro.
He had all the tools to dominate his event and make a run at the world record. Beyond his obvious physical gifts, his coach was Clyde Hart, the legendary guru of the 400 at Baylor who coached Michael Johnson to two Olympic gold medals in the event. His adviser was Johnson, the man whose world record Wariner openly targeted.
But after last season, the man who wears sunglasses whenever he races — day or night — decided it was “time for a change,” leaving Hart for Baylor assistant Michael Ford. Why mess with success?
“Coach Hart is getting to the point where he’s thinking about retiring as a coach,” said Wariner, who will be star attraction at the Olympic Trials on Thursday in the 400-meter finals. “And I just felt like it was time for me to change now, instead of waiting a few more years and not knowing what I need then. I need somebody that does the same thing he does, that believes in the same system. Coach Ford was there already. He’s been with me since I got to Baylor.”
Some speculated it was a financial decision, which Wariner refutes. But it seemed a little shortsighted to some when LaShawn Merritt beat Wariner in Berlin on June 1 to end Wariner’s nine-race winning streak. That can only heighten the expectation for Thursday’s showdown.
“He’s a great runner, and he’s going to be pretty much my main competition for the next few years, and I’m looking forward to that,” Wariner said of Merritt. “More competition is better, because it’s going to make me run faster.”
Merritt ran 44.03 seconds that day, Wariner 44.07. A week later, Wariner ran 43.98, fastest in the world this year.
Johnson said it was probably good for Wariner to get beaten a month before the trials by his main rival.
“When you’re winning all of the time, I’m not saying that it’s easy to win, but it becomes easier the more you win,” Johnson said. “So you get into that position where you’re at a little bit of danger of becoming a little complacent, because it is coming so easily.”
Wariner is the third-fastest quarter-miler in history, with a personal best of 43.45 seconds. Johnson’s world record is 43.18.
“I’m not sure at this point whether he’s the kind of person that can go out there and break the world record running by himself or if having someone like LaShawn is going to help him,” Johnson said. “I tend to think that having someone like LaShawn out there running against him is going to help.”
Wariner said his focus is on defending his Olympic title, something only Johnson has done in the 400.
“But at the same time, the world record is in my mind,” Wariner said. “I want to be the first one to run 42 seconds. Those are in my mind as motivation, I train harder each day, just to go to get better to get to those steps.”
John Meyer: 303-954-1616 or jmeyer@denverpost.com
