Aries Merritt
Merritt during 2012 World Indoor Championships.
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| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | American |
| Born |
July 24, 1985 Chicago, Illinois |
| Residence | Bryan, Texas |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg) |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Running |
| Event(s) | Hurdles |
| College team | Tennessee Volunteers |
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Medal record
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| Updated on 28 August 2015. | |
Aries Merritt (born July 24, 1985) is an American track and field athlete who specializes in the 110 meter hurdles, and currently holds the world record in that event with a time of 12.80 s set on September 7, 2012. He won the gold medal in the 110 meter hurdles at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.
Born in Chicago, Illinois, he moved to Marietta, Georgia at a young age, attending Joseph Wheeler High School, where he was teammates with Reggie Witherspoon. Merritt ran for the University of Tennessee from 2003 to 2006 and had a successful college career, a seven-time All-American. He took the 110 meter hurdles gold at the 2004 World Junior Championships and finished sixth at the 2006 World Athletics Final. Also in 2006, he won the NCAA Championships, was undefeated in all hurdles events that year, and broke Willie Gault's Tennessee Volunteers hurdles record. His victory at the NCAA Championships in 13.21 s was the second fastest ever collegiate time in the United States, behind only Renaldo Nehemiah. He reached the World Athletics Final in 2008, finishing in fourth. Merritt is the first hurdler to ever win gold in the US Indoor Championship, the World Indoor Championship (Istanbul, Turkey), the US Olympic Trials, and the Olympic Games all in the same year.
In the final of the 110m hurdles at the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, Merritt was initially classified 6th, with a time of 13.67 s. After Dayron Robles was disqualified, Merritt was promoted to 5th. His season's best was 13.12 s, achieved in Eugene, Oregon and Oslo.
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