LaShawn Merritt

LaShawn Merritt is an Olympic Champion and 2-time World Champion in the 400m, as well as winning 2 Olympic and 6 World Championship gold medals in the 4x400m relay representing Team USA.

Merritt is one of only six men in history to have broken 20 seconds for the 200m and 44 seconds for the 400m, and his personal best of 43.65 seconds makes him the ninth fastest of all-time.

LaShawn was a successful junior athlete and won the 400m gold at the 2004 World Junior Championships, as well as setting two world junior records in the relays.

He established himself individually in 2007 by winning a silver medal in the 400m at the 2007 World Championships.

At the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, he won Olympic Gold, running a personal best time and winning by a record margin of 0.99 secs. He also broke the Olympic record in the relay with Team USA.

Merritt established himself as World Champion with a win at the 2009 World Championships in the 400m and the 4×400m relay, which he repeated in 2013 in Moscow.