U.S. Track and Field Trials | LaShawn Merritt stuns Jeremy Wariner in 400

EUGENE, Ore. — Jeremy Wariner isn't invincible anymore — a point LaShawn Merritt proved once again Thursday night.

Merritt pulled his second upset of the year over the world's supposed fastest 400-meter runner, dashing away from Wariner in the homestretch to win the U.S. Olympic track and field trials.

It was the second big stunner of the night in America's trials. In the pool in Omaha, Neb., Brendan Hansen finished a shocking fourth in the 200-meter breaststroke.

Unlike Hansen, Wariner still did enough to earn his spot on the Olympic team in his best event.

And not everybody at the track was calling this an upset.

"Coming into this, I wasn't really worried about everyone saying I wasn't the favorite," Merritt said. "In my mind, I was the favorite."

Merritt finished in 44 seconds flat, defeating the defending Olympic and two-time world champion by 0.20. Earning the third spot was national indoor champion David Neville.

Moments before, the women's 400 went much more to form, with Sanya Richards winning and Mary Wineberg and Dee Dee Trotter capturing the other two spots.

Richards is seeking an individual gold medal to go with the 1,600 relay gold she won in Athens.

In the 1,500-meter quarterfinals, Bernard Lagat, Lopez Lomong, Alan Webb and Leo Manzano advanced to Friday's semis. Lagat, the former Washington State standout who already qualified for Beijing in the 5,000, finished fourth in his heat, clearly saving energy for two races to come.

In the women's steeplechase, Anna Willard set an American record, finishing the 3,000-meter race in 9 minutes, 27.59 seconds.

The race of the night, however, was the men's 400.

Merritt took to the track with a red-white-and-blue necklace his massage therapist made for him before the race. Wariner was in his trademark sunglasses, even though it was twilight.

He said he wasn't disappointed in finishing second. "I just came here to make the team," he said.

But his body language at the finish line told a different story. He shuffled his feet in apparent frustration, then looked at the clock, which showed 44.20 — well off his personal best (43.45) and nowhere near Michael Johnson's world record (43.18) that Wariner has said is within reach for him this year.

"The record is one thing I want to do, but I have to focus on winning the gold medal first," Wariner said.

Note

• Tim Montgomery, former 100-meter world-record holder, pleaded guilty Thursday to distributing heroin, averting a trial set for next week.

The Olympic gold medalist was arrested in April and has been held without bond after a judge declared him a flight risk and a danger to the community. The jury trial he requested had been scheduled to start July 9. Montgomery, 33, was sentenced in May to nearly four years in prison for his role in a New York-based check-kiting conspiracy.