head clash of these Games and in the end it wasn’t even close.

Powering to a one-step lead off the final bend, LaShawn Merritt forged onwards to overwhelming victory to dethrone defending 400m champion Jeremy Wariner clocking 43.75.

In fact, Merritt’s margin of victory, at 0.99 just under a full second, was the greatest in Olympic history.

“You don’t become a champion without being mentally and physically tough,” said Merritt, who at 22 is two year’s Wariner’s junior. “And you know what, I showed up and got it done.”

After watching Merritt romp down the homestretch, there was simply no debating that assessment.

“I actually focused on running on that back stretch,” said Merritt, who improved significantly on his 43.96 career best set it Osaka last year when he finished second to Wariner. “I ran it like I wanted the gold medal. Like my roommate, Angelo Taylor. He ran it like he wanted to win.”

Wariner, lined up in Lane 7, got out the fastest, building a marginal lead midway through the back straight. But in the meantime, Merritt, running in Lane 4, opened with a slightly more controlled tempo, running relaxed down the back straight and began to draw even midway through the final turn to enter the straight with a half step lead.

That was usually the point where Wariner begins to pull away. But this time, as was the case in his two other defeats to Merritt this year – in both occasions lined up to Merritt’s outside, incidentally - he didn’t. 

Instead, it was Merritt who turned that narrow edge at the top of the straight into an insurmountable lead which he extended with each long powerful stride. Behind him Wariner was a shadow of his former self. Unable to respond, he began to fade gradually, but held on for second in 44.74.

Closing markedly faster as well was David Neville, whose finishing lean evolved into a dive. He nearly caught Wariner, but fell – literally – just a bit short in 44.80, to clinch the second consecutive U.S. Olympic sweep of the event.

“I felt good off the first 200, when I tried to move it just wasn’t there,” said Wariner, whose only slower performance in a final this year was his 44.82 in Melbourne in February. “If I could have had the race I had in the semi-finals, it would have been a closer race.”

“I had to go in head first,” Neville said. “It was a tough race at the end, but sometimes you have to dive in and give it your all.”

Bahamian record holder Chris Brown was a close fourth in 44.84, with Frenchman Leslie Djhone edging Briton Martyn Rooney by a scant 0.01 in 45.11.

Since his victory in Athens four years ago, Wariner was the event’s dominant force until Merritt’s rise this year as his first significant challenge. Merritt has spent those same four years waiting for his moment to arrive.

“Four years ago I got gold at the World Juniors in Grosseto, and I said that four years later I wanted to do it on the Olympic level. And I got here and got it done.”

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Even before events took a dramatic turn in the men’s 100 metres, the Jeremy Wariner – LaShawn Merritt clash over the full lap was billed as the showdown of the Games. And both look extremely well prepared after their convincing and dominating victories in the semi-finals tonight.

In the first of three semis, defending Olympic and two-time World champion Wariner wasted little time to stamp his authority. On fire out of the blocks, the 24-year-old Texan made up the stagger on the field by midway, and once through the turn, gradually shut it down, looking to his outside some 40 metres from the finish before cruising through the line in 44.15. This season, only he and Merritt have run faster.

And Merritt was even faster tonight. Out quickly but more patiently than Wariner, the 22-year-old U.S. champion gradually built a comfortable lead with what appeared to be a very evenly run race. He was unchallenged over the final 100 metres, stopping the clock in 44.12.

“I’m excited for the finals,” said Wariner, who leads the world this year at 43.86. “I knew where I was at. I did everything I wanted to.”

Said Merritt, who’s run 44.00 this year: “Anything can happen on any day. I’m in the best shape of my life. I’m ready to show the world what I can do.”

In 2008, the two have split their four meetings. The lane draw may be critical; both of Wariner’s victories came when Merritt ran to his outside. In Thursday’s final, Merritt will line up in lane four, and Wariner in seven.

Behind him, Briton Martyn Rooney improved yet again, making up two spots over the final 50 metres to finish second in a personal best 44.60, just ahead of Swedish record holder Johan Wissman, who advanced easily on time. Renny Quow of Trinidad, moved on as well after his 44.82, also a career best.

“The last 100 metres were hard,” said Rooney, who as each race passes, looks more and more a medal contender. “I had to run a personal best to get through.”

Meanwhile, Bahamian Chris Brown, this season’s third fastest, was the only other runner remotely close to Wariner and advanced easily with his runner-up finish in 44.59. Although they failed to advance from Heat 1, Belgian Kevin Borlee (44.88) in third, Costa Rica’s Nery Brenes (44.94) in fourth and Tabarie Henry (45.19) from the U.S. Virgin Islands in seventh each produced national records.

Godday James of Nigeria took the early lead in heat 2, followed by Frenchman Leslie Djhone and Australian champion Joel Milburn. But as James began to fade heading off the final bend, it was U.S. indoor champion David Neville who began his surge towards the finish. As Milburn slowed, Neville gained but neither would catch Djhone who won with a season’s best 44.79. Neville stopped the clock in 44.91 to take move on as well.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF

Jeremy Wariner’s quest to become only the second two-time Olympic 400m champion began this morning without a hitch.

Running in the outside lane, the two-time World champion cruised to a 45.23 victory in the last of seven heats to easily advance to romorrow’s (19) semi-finals.

Two races earlier his chief challenger for Olympic gold, fellow American LaShawn Merritt, shook out the early morning cobwebs with a 44.96 victory, more than 0.20 seconds ahead of the chase pack led by Nigerian Saul Weigopwa (45.19).

“I ran a smart, easy race,” said Merritt, who defeated Wariner twice this season, including at the U.S. Trials.

The fastest heat was the second, with a blanket finish producing four sub-44.90 clockings. Underscoring his solid podium potential was Chris Brown of The Bahamas who cruised to a 44.79 victory, just a tick ahead of Australian Joel Milburn, who impressed with a 44.80 career best, a 0.19 second improvement for the 22-year-old.

“It seems that every time I’m here to race these guys in the first round, they bring their best,” said Brown, who lowered his career best and national record to 44.40 this year.

Swede Johan Wissman, a World championships finalist a year ago, was next in 44.81, also a season’s best, with African record holder Gary Kikaya fourth in 44.89, also a season’s best.

Britons Martyn Rooney and Andrew Steele, who are sharing a room here in Beijing, won the fourth and sixth heats respectively. Particularly impressive was the run by the 23-year-old Steele, whose 44.94 was his first jaunt into sub-45 territory, and a huge improvement from his previous 45.31 career best. Rooney, already a sub-45 man at 44.72, won handily in 45.00 ahead of Australian Sean Wroe, who lowered his personal best to 45.17 to finish second.

Behind Steele, Trinidad’s Renny Quow (45.13) and Bahamian Michael Mathieu (45.17) also advanced.

Frenchman Leslie Djhone got Day 4 rolling in the first race of the morning, crossing the line in 45.12 ahead of American David Neville (45.22). Dhjone took the win despite not being particularly fond of mornings. Said the Frenchman: “The race was too early. I didn’t get a good night’s sleep. I almost fell asleep during the warm-up.”

Heat 3 went to Costa Rican national record holder Nery Brenes in 45.39, ahead of Nigerian James Godday (45.49) and Bahamian Andretti Bain (45.96), the NCAA champion.

The morning’s major casualty was Canadian Tyler Christopher, who captured the World Indoor title five months ago. Well back midway through the final bend, he continued to lose ground down the homestretch and finished a well-beaten fourth in Heat 6, clocking 45.67. Ahead of him was Jamaican Michael Blackwood, a 2004 finalist, whose 45.56 was the second fastest among non-qualifiers.

Alleyne Francique of Grenada, a two-time World Indoor champion, also exited early after a sixth place showing in the opening round, clocking just 46.15.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF