With the movie McFarland, USA set to hit theaters on Feb. 20, USA TODAY High School Sports is looking back at some of the top athletes to be part of the American Family Insurance ALL-USA track and field teams over the years. Based on a true story from 1987, McFarland, USA tells the story of coach Jim White, who took an unlikely group of athletes in a predominantly Latino small town in California and built a legacy of cross country runners.
LaSHAWN MERRITT
Events: 100 meters, 200 meters, 400 meters
High school: Woodrow Wilson (Portsmouth, Va.)
ALL-USA history: Merritt, who participated in an Olympic Development Camp in California between his junior and senior years of high school, was named to the ALL-USA first team in 2004. He set a world junior record for the 400 in 44.93 seconds as a senior.
After ALL-USA: After he turned pro after his freshman year at East Carolina, Merritt went on to win gold medals in the 400 (43.75) and 4 x 400 relay (2:55.39) at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. In the 400, he won by 0.99 seconds, the largest margin of victory in an Olympic 400 final since 1896.The relay time was an American record and the second-fastest in Olympic history. A year later, he won the 400 at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships in 44.06. After a suspension, he returned to win silver in the 400 at the World Outdoor Championships in 2011 and was the anchor of the gold-medal 4×400 relay team. He was considered the favorite to repeat as Olympic champion in the 400 in London but aggravated a hamstring injury two weeks before the Games and did not get past qualifying.
Today: The reigning 400 meter world champion, he is preparing to defend his title at the World Outdoor Championships in Beijing in August. He also is part of the reigning world champion 4 x 400 relay team.
LaShawn Merrit of United States celebrates winning the 400 meters at the World Juniors Championships in July 2004 in Grosseto, Italy. (Photo: Paul Gilham/Getty Images)
LaShawn Merritt takes the handoff for the anchor leg in the 4 x 400 relay at the World Outdoor Championships in Moscow last summer. The U.S. men won the gold medal (Photo: Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports)