A Shade Fast
6/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
June 6, 2007
From The Sunday Times
June 3, 2007
A Shade Fast by Neil White
Jeremy Wariner follows in the footsteps of Michael Johnson, with the great man on hand to help him every inch of the way
World championships, 400m final, Helsinki, 2005
"Really, there was only one man in the race from the word go." Steve Cram calls it perfectly. The 400m final has taken place on two levels. One is contested by mortals who push each other forward, a thrilling chase won at the last by the American Andrew Rock, for silver. Always ahead of them, one man whose only opponent is history.
Jeremy Wariner is 23 years old and speaks with the drawl shared by many of his fellow Texans. He also possesses the matter-of-fact confidence customary to phenomenal sporting talents. He is the only man in the world today running 400m in under 44 seconds - the time that stands like a barrier at the door of greatness. At the start of a summer that peaks in Osaka, Japan, and the defence of his world title, Wariner is asked if his only opponent will be the clock, and honesty beats modesty to the tape. "At this moment, I'm the only one that's broken 44, so if the time's going to be under 44, I feel I'm going to be running against the clock," he says. "I'm going to be running against LaShawn Merritt and Gary Kikaya and they'll be my toughest competitors. I have a target on my back they're going to be chasing, but I can't be worried about them. I'm running against the clock."
