Screw going out too hard. He was caught before the 300 meter mark. You’d think if he went out really hard he’d still be in the lead down part of the last straightaway and then get caught.
He just blew it.
Fair play to Merrit for getting a personal best when it counts but in reality it was up to JW who won or lost - if he had been his normal self he would have won… SO, what went wrong? Did he really go out to fast? Has anyone got splits? Because that run was AWFUL!
JW simply does not have the last 100m in his legs the way he used to. When he could not shake off Merrit’s final burst his boat sunk.
But MJ is the biggest “expert” on BBC! How cute. If JW has any intelligence I think he should reconsider the decisions and choices he made in recent times.
it look like wariner had a slight lead on merritt at 300m. Around 31.5X for wariner and around 31.6X for merritt. However, this year wariner he didn’t have the same finishing kick as last year. Basically the same position as last year, regarding the splits and with merritt on an inner lane. This year merritt has stronger 100m finish and wariner has lost his.
AND MJ will KEEP his gig with BBC cause he’s still the WR holder in something. Maybe Wariner ought to give that a thought.
Wariner lost his finish over the course of a day?
It was there in the semi.
Was it the pressure? knowing merrit was watching him?
Something happened… ive never seen him look so bad (going back to 2003) over the last 80m!
yeah, you’re right, he hasn’t lost the finish based on his 44.12 semi easing up. He just seemed to not have it when he needed it most, in the final. I think even if he was closer to merritt in terms of lane assignments, or on the inside of merritt, the finish still would not have been there.
Got to handle the whole thing- just like Athens.
it look like wariner had a slight lead on merritt at 300m. Around 31.5X for wariner and around 31.6X for merritt. However, this year wariner he didn’t have the same finishing kick as last year.
Female 400m runners get “hit” by the “wall” at around 300m mark, while male runners experience it between 300-350m. As I said, when JW could not break Merrit, this factor [fatigue] + his mental state contributed to sudden collapse of Wariner’s form. Therefore he started to slow down rapidly. If it was 410m race he would have ended up 3rd or 4th.
probably 4th. Once he knew he couldn’t win he stopped trying as hard you can see the last 20m he wasn’t going all out.
Will be very interesting to see how both of them go over the next couple of years.
Looking forward to KK’s comments. 
The interesting thing for me is how easy the 44.15 looked the night before. Based on that I would have thought Wariner was good for 43.6 or so. If the splits that have been posted are right, Wariner actually went out faster over the opening 200m in the semis (20.7 vs. 20.9) and still looked fresher over the final 100m.
Did he just go too hard in the semis, or is there something different in his training that doesn’t allow him to runs rounds as well this year?
The difference of the two is that this hasn’t been evident with Wariner since perhaps his early Baylor years. Whereas with Richards this has occurred on numerous occasions - for whatever reason.
lol at Wariner’s reaction when he was getting interviewed on NBC about the Clyde Hart coaching change.
Hang on, who has been coaching Merritt?
Wariner, 24, split with long-time coach Clyde Hart early this year over financial terms and Merritt, 22, is Hart’s new pupil.
what did he say? 
Basically said, I don’t wanna talk about it and it had nothing to do with it and walked away.
So, it wasn’t him in the race?! 
Yet another proof that MJ is Don King of T&F.
It didn’t surprise me that Merritt ran 43.7. He just ran a great race: powerful and relaxed.
But on Wariner’s home-straight stroll in the semi, I thought Jeremy might have gone under Michael’s world record.
In the final Wariner didn’t look especially tense or even particularly quick through 300m but he just had nothing down the home straight.
I was also shocked that in this age anyone could run 44.7 and win an Olympic medal. Darren Clark ran 44.55 in the Seoul final 20 years ago backing up off a 44.38 and couldn’t do better than 4th. I’m really not sure how to interpret that.
I suppose we could say Wariner had a shocker and still beat the chase pack. It’s Merritt and Wariner way out in front, but the pool is shallow after that duo.
I suppose in time we’ll find out what was wrong with Wariner, maybe he picked up a virus or ate something that disagreed, but he didn’t have the finish and looked a shadow of the man who ran the semi in Beijing.
Clyde Hart on split with Jeremy Wariner: People just have to draw their own conclusions
2:53 AM Fri, Aug 22, 2008 | Permalink | Yahoo! Buzz
Brad Townsend E-mail News tips
BEIJING – As he rode away from the Bird’s Nest in a taxi Thursday night, a longtime Jeremy Wariner fan found himself analyzing what might have gone wrong.
It was only natural for Clyde Hart, who coached Wariner for five years before they split in January over a contract dispute.
“I was disappointed Jeremy didn’t win,” Hart said of Wariner’s second-place finish in the 400 meters behind American rival LaShawn Merritt. "I know how hard he works. I know he’s disappointed.
“I just think he was mentally like some others we’ve seen here in Beijing. The Olympics are just a different situation. You’ve got to be ready at that moment in time. There have been quite a few here who haven’t been.”
When Wariner stopped for an interview with NBC after the race, the first question referenced his split with Hart.
The timing and/or nature of the question apparently upset Wariner, who walked past reporters in the mixed zone without pausing to speak, though 10 minutes later he returned and answered questions.
He did not address Hart, but has said all year how pleased he is with new coach Michael Ford, Baylor’s associate coach. Wariner has said he plans to compete through 2016 and wasn’t sure how much longer Hart, 74, would coach.
“This time last year, Jeremy was winning championships,” Hart said. “He was running low 43s. He just hasn’t been able to put it together.”
Beijing broke a string of three straight Olympics in which Hart has coached the men’s 400 winner – Michael Johnson in 1996 and 2000, and Wariner in 2004. Hart said he understands why, in the aftermath of this Olympic loss, some fans will point to the pupil-coach split.
“That’s going to happen,” he said. “They just have to draw their own conclusions. I was afraid that transition would affect him, but I understand he has trained well and that hasn’t been an issue.”
Hart has a Midas touch with 400 runners, but his coaching brings no guarantees. Hart coaches Sanya Richards, who was leading Wednesday’s women’s 400 until her hamstring tightened with 80 meters left.