How common is the 500m? Is that a distance that 400m runners think about often?
Is $25k a lot of money or a little money to an Olympic Champion for an off-distance?
So, it's indoors this weekend at Milrose. He will have clocks to look at and will be racing a good field. it's his early season...
You think he will break 1 minute?
You think he will win?
I always think of him as rigging a little on the homestretch of the 400's...
His indoor 500m PR is 1:03.38. I think Jeshua Anderson and Strymar Livingston are going to give him a run for his money. Merrit will probably win, but I highly doubt he will be anywhere close to the world record of 1 minute.
I don't know about the other events, but this meet is an interesting opportunity to see a good mix of athletes in the men's and women's 60m.
In the men's 60m there are 4 Americans, 1 Canadian, 1 Brit, 1 T&T, and 1 Guyanian.
I don't know how Bledman will fare, I think it will come down to Effah and Dixon, with Dixon for the win based on what he did last weekend.
Mark Everett and Butch Reynolds ran it and didn't break 1 minute (though I think Reynolds ran it before his best years), so I don't think it's as soft as some people think. Merritt is certainly one of the all-time great 400 guys, though he hasn't been in top form recently. It's hard to say; personally, I think he'll win but not get the world record.
$25K buys a lot of Extenze.
efhutton wrote:
$25K buys a lot of Extenze.
Exactly ;)
Do you know any alltime list for 500m? I can't find one.
52.43 wrote:
Do you know any alltime list for 500m? I can't find one.
Scroll down to see the 500m list.
No sub 44 guys on the list except for Reynolds, two years before he broke 44.
Remember, Merrit was the first collegiate to go under 45 for the 400 indoors, so he has indoor experience.
Don't know how fit or sharp he is right now but he is a good candidate for the record.
The money seems right for a record like that.
It won't be a big deal but would be nice publicity for the meet, and the meet probably just paid an insurance premium against the record for a lot less than $25K.
Kind of an exciting barrier - the minute hasn't been broken, at least officially^^
Btw what's with that Wariner guy?!
I could see Merritt coming through the 400m in 46 and then running the last 100m in 13.9X at the very least
The Waterboy wrote:
I could see Merritt coming through the 400m in 46 and then running the last 100m in 13.9X at the very least
Someone's never run a 46 400 before.
Indoors thats impossible. Merritt might come through in 47 and be able to close in 14 indoors. All those turns for big boy sprinters really wears them out. Turning is burning. The 100 meter dash is straight and thats why Bolt is good at it.
Hey Austra....
Kirani James just ran 45.95 in the 400m this past weekend.....
Oooops wrote:
Hey Austra....
Kirani James just ran 45.95 in the 400m this past weekend.....
wow thats amazing.
The Waterboy wrote:
I could see Merritt coming through the 400m in 46 and then running the last 100m in 13.9X at the very least
Australipithicus wrote:
Someone's never run a 46 400 before.
Indoors thats impossible. Merritt might come through in 47 and be able to close in 14 indoors. All those turns for big boy sprinters really wears them out. Turning is burning. The 100 meter dash is straight and thats why Bolt is good at it.
I thought he ran quite well in the 200m as well...
Oooops wrote:
Hey Austra....
Kirani James just ran 45.95 in the 400m this past weekend.....
He meant that even for Merrit, running a 46i is not "jogging", and he won't likely be able to follow up with a sub 14 final 100m.
Indoors thats impossible. Merritt might come through in 47 and be able to close in 14 indoors. All those turns for big boy sprinters really wears them out. Turning is burning. The 100 meter dash is straight and thats why Bolt is good at it.
The 200 meter dash has a turn in it. Bolt is pretty good at that too...
Doper
ukathleticscoach wrote:
Doper
Guess you missed the USA Today article that proved Merritt is telling the truth about everything. Merritt is a boss. I am pulling for him all the way. USA!
Do people here really think Merritt *can't* break the world record? He may or may not in this particular meet, but he's certainly capable. Multiple guys I ran with in college have run under 1:03, with one dipping under 1:02. None of these guys had a faster pr than 46.75. Granted a few of them could dip under 1:50 in the 800, but I think Merritt's sub 44 speed can certainly make up for that.
There are two things that could hold him back from getting the record:
1) Not in good enough shape at this point in his season (note that that's just about shape, not overall capability)
2) Not familiar enough with the 500 to deal with how bad that last 80 meters HURTS.
I predict it goes down.