THE USA’S LASHAWN Merritt, favourite for 400m gold at the London Olympics, pulled up holding his left thigh during yesterday’s Diamond League race in Monaco.
Merritt stopped running after 300 metres and crossed the line walking, before being greeted by his Grenadan rival Kirani James, who finished second in a time of 44.76sec.
Belgium’s Jonathan Borlee was a surprise winner in 44.74sec.
“At 250 metres, as I started to move my leg up, I felt a little bit of discomfort,” said Merritt, who did not appear concerned by the incident.
“The aim of the season is the Olympic Games, so I decided to stop. I’d hoped to do a good time here but I’ll continue working to be ready for London.”
