By Vicky Oddi, Universal Sports
NEW YORK - After finishing as the runner-up to Angelo Taylor at the Pre Classic last weekend, 2004 Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner bounced back this week to win a down-to-the-wire 400m against Jermaine Gonzales and Rondell Bartholomew.
After a good start and a strong backstretch, Wariner came off the curve with just a slight lead over Gonzales and Bartholomew. Inside the 80m mark Bartholomew pulled even with Wariner and for an instant it looked as if Wariner would be defeated again. But he was able to maintain his focus and hold off the late charge to get the win in 45.13. Gonzales used a late kick of his own to edge Bartholomew at the tape as they crossed the line in 45.16 and 45.17, respectively.
After he was able to recover his breath, Wariner talked about his race saying "I knew it was going to be a tight race. Everyone in that race has run 44 sometime in the past year-and-a-half. I executed a lot better this week than last week. My legs were under me this time. Last week my legs were a little dead, when I did my practice start it didn't feel right. I didn't execute at all. I didn't get out from the start, I let them get so far ahead of me that it was hard to come back from.
"Today, my first half of the race was perfect. Right where Coach Hart wanted me to be. The wind was real tough today but fortunately I was able to stay focused and relaxed down the home stretch. I think that's why I was able to beat them at the end, " Wariner said.
Now Wariner will focus on making the World Championships team this year, something he hasn't had to do since 2005. And then he will focus on regaining his world 400m title. "I've got US Champs coming up, I have to make the team this year to go to Worlds. That's my first goal. After that, it's to prepare myself for Worlds and win the world title," Wariner said.
Another man focused on making his nation's team for the 2011 World Championships is Oscar Pistorius. Running out of lane 1, Pistorius surged down the homestretch to finish fifth in 45.69 to Wariner's winning 45.13. Better known as the "Blade Runner," it is the second-fastest time he has ever run, though still shy of the 45.25 ‘A' standard that he needs to qualify for this year's World Championships.
After his race, Pistorius was pleased with his performance saying "Coming into the homestretch I had to really pick up the pace. Very, very happy with today's time considering the wind and the rain and everything."
When asked if he would have preferred any other lane besides line 1, he quipped "I'm blessed just to have a race, to be able to take a lane here. You know, these guys are in the top of the world. I'm glad to have a lane here and I'll take whichever lane."
400 Meter Results
1 WARINER Jeremy USA 45.13
2 GONZALES Jermaine JAM 45.16
3 BARTHOLOMEW Rondell GRN 45.17
4 BROWN Christopher BAH 45.50
5 PISTORIUS Oscar RSA 45.69
6 BORLÉE Kevin BEL 45.86
7 QUOW Renny TRI 46.39
8 CHAMBERS Ricardo JAM 46.74
more....