Flotrack's Best of 2011 - Bounce Back of the Year

Positive drug results and subsequent suspensions leave most with a bad taste in their mouths.  Very few are satisfied and feel good when one is removed.  Questions about test legitimacy and others using the drug arise.  Personally, I never feel better or that the problem is getting solved when someone goes down.  The gray area is vast in the department.

Every now and then the defense of the accused sounds resonable.  This is the case of Lashawn Merritt.  In a recent NY Times article, the details of the case are laid out.  Merritt admitted the embarrassing circumstances behind his positive tests.  Rather than taking drugs to improve his 400 times, these substances were meant to improve sexual performance.  The result was a 21 month suspension.

At the time, this ban seemed to be a death sentence.  It seemed impossible for the reigning Olympic and World Champion at 400 meters to get back on top, especially considering the normally the depth of the event.  In recent years the US has had little trouble assembling a gold medal 4x400 team.  It was easy to assume that Merritt’s shoes would be filled.

Good news came to Merritt in the summer when it was announced that he would have the chance to defend his world title.  He ran 44.35 to win the silver medal, narrowly losing his second world title to Kirani James.  Now at age 25, Merritt is back among the best.

A lot has happened to Merritt early in his career, but he still has a lot of running in front of him. In 2011, LaShawn Merritt is the biggest bounce back performer. 2012 should be another banner year for Merritt as he aims to defend his Olympic gold medal.

Watch more video of LaShawn Merritt on flotrack.org