7/1/08

EUGENE, ORE. - This was more a warm-up than the real thing. Still, it's hard not to pay attention when Jeremy Wariner and LaShawn Merritt are running side by side.

Going shoulder to shoulder in the 400-meter semifinals Monday night at U.S. Olympic trials, Wariner beat Merritt by .08 seconds to set up a rematch in the finals Thursday.

Wariner, the defending Olympic champion, improved to 12-2 lifetime against the man who figures to be his biggest competition this summer, finishing in 44.68 seconds and setting aside a loss to Merritt in Berlin last month that shook up the sport a bit.