Jeremy Wariner

Can anyone get close to Wariner?

Len Johnson
February 13, 2008

CAN a change of coach do to Jeremy Wariner what no rival has been able to do for four years — make him vulnerable to defeat?

Since he won the Olympic 400 metres gold medal in Athens four years ago, there has been pretty much one rule applying to Wariner. If the young Texan is on the starting line, he wins.

Wariner lost only once in 2004 (plus another defeat for running out of his lane), once in 2005, once in 2006 and once again in 2007.

It's a pretty imposing record, which scarcely has been threatened by any other runner. Even when someone has got close — as when Gary Kikaya and LaShawn Merritt came within a metre or so at the 2006 World Athletics Final — there has never been a sense they were running over the top of Wariner.

All that time, it seemed Wariner's one serious rival was Michael Johnson, the man regarded as the best 400 metres runner ever, and his world record 43.18 seconds. About the only thing Wariner does not share in common with Johnson is that he is not African-American. Both are Texans, both attended Baylor University in Waco, both were coached by legendary 400 coach Clyde Hart.

Last month, Wariner shocked the athletics world with the announcement that he no longer would be coached by Hart.

Complicating matters, as well as stretching the loyalties, Johnson is both mentor and adviser to Wariner, and loyal to Hart. Both he and Wariner's athletics agent, Deon Minor, say they did not influence the decision one way or the other.

In coaching terms, it makes little difference. Wariner will continue to train at Waco, continue to have access to the facilities at Baylor University (where Hart coaches) and continue his arrangement with Johnson. To top it all, Wariner will be coached by Michael Ford, a former assistant to Hart who is thoroughly familiar with his methods. In a recent interview, Ford emphasised that things would not change much, if at all.

Coaching change can be a catalyst for a downturn in performance, but usually only where it reflects problems in other areas. US track chat sites have been full of observations about how "the great ones" never change coaches, but there are plenty of exceptions. Australians need only go back to Sydney 2000 and Cathy Freeman for an example of an athlete successfully shutting out off-track problems.

That, in any case, is for the future. Wariner flies in to Sydney today with teammate Darold Williamson still the unbackable favourite for a second 400 metres gold medal and to break Johnson's world record, if not this year, then sometime soon.

What makes Wariner so good? Peter Fortune coached Cathy Freeman through most of her career and, with Nic Bideau and Maurie Plant, formed the triumvirate who set her on her way to a gold medal in Sydney.

What sets Wariner apart, to Fortune, is his smoothness, his efficiency and his ability to run very fast with minimum energy expenditure. "I don't think anyone in recent times has been as fluid as Wariner," Fortune says.

Wariner has good 200-metre speed (a personal-best of 20.19), meaning he can run the first half of a 400 faster than his rivals without taking as much out of himself as they do.

Wariner has avoided that pitfall of injury, too. He is better in that regard than Johnson, whose early career was interrupted by stress fractures and who held back from taking up the 400 for several seasons because of that.

Melbourne fans will get a rare opportunity to see Wariner when he runs his only Australian 400 here tomorrow week.