By Linden Moore
LaShawn Merritt has had a busy month of May. The 30-year-old Olympian ran in in Doha and Shanghai Diamond League events before returning to the U.S. to compete in the annual Prefontaine Classic.
I’ve been running a lot in May,” Merritt said.
Merritt added to his list of events on Saturday after winning the 400 meters at the Prefontaine Classic with a time of 44.79 seconds, ahead of second-place finisher Baboloki Thebe, 18, who finished in 45.04.
“The plan was to come out and get the win,” he said. “It’s my last competition until trials, so I’m happy to end it with a victory.”
Merritt faced sun and wind, but it didn’t shake his confidence as he crossed the finish line.
“I felt the wind, I adjusted to it,” he said.
Merritt placed second in the 400 in Doha with a time of 44.78, and second in the 200 in Shanghai with a time of 20.27 seconds.
“The plan is to get 100 percent healthy—I’m not healthy right now,” Merritt said. “I need to get healthy, get some speed in me, get some rest. Not only have I been running a lot, I’ve been traveling.”
The changing conditions Merritt has experienced presents a challenge for his training.
“It definitely plays a part when you go from Drake where it’s 40 degrees to Doha where it’s 90 degrees, straight over to Shanghai and back to Jamaica,” Merritt said. “It’s a lot, but this is what I do. You adjust, early on you don’t want to be at your best you want to be competitive.”
Merritt understands that the travel and changes in weather is part of a competitive runner’s job description and is confident he can continue to employ that in the future.
“I’ve been running for a long time—I understand how to adapt, how to get my proper rest, how to hydrate,” he said. “It’s taking one race at a time and learning from each race and apply it to the next one—that’s what the early races are about.”
Olympian Karbo Sibanda did not finish the race after falling.
