Quotes from today's adidas Grand Prix teleconference with Jason Richardson and Aries Merritt
Press Release
May 2, 2012
For 110-meter hurdlers Jason Richardson and Aries Merritt, the past year has been life-changing: Richardson became the 2011 IAAF World Champion outdoors, and this winter Merritt won the 2012 world title indoors. But the year ahead could be even more monumental. I cant sleep at night sometimes, said Richardson, on the excitement and pressure of the upcoming Olympic campaign for gold in one of the most fiercely competitive events in the sport. Richardson and Merritt, both of whom are suddenly among the medal favorites, will face each otheralong with 2008 Olympic bronze medalist David Oliverat the adidas Grand Prix in New York City on June 9, and they spoke to reporters today on a teleconference in advance of the meet.
Link to audio of the teleconference: http://www.diamondleague-newyork.com/Global/New-York/2012-05-02-confcall.mp3
Link to todays athlete announcement: http://www.diamondleague-newyork.com/News/NewsArticles/4-world-champions-added-to-adidas-grand-prix/
Complete transcript:
On what might be different in their approach in the Olympic year as opposed to past seasons:
Jason Richardson: My training is going incredibly well. I hit a lot of benchmarks for myself earlier than I did last year so Im on pace to run better and faster than the previous years. As far as my approach to the Olympic year, definitely dont want to re-invent the wheel. Its just improving and making small changes in a positive direction towards improving on things that I can change to help my race. Weve really worked on speed. Weve worked on improving technique, and we worked on the competitive edge, which I feel is a strength that I have. Overall, Im in a good place, and Im excited for the year.
Aries Merritt: Training is going really good. The only major difference Ive made this year was my change from eight to seven steps. Other than that everything is going well. Im looking forward to running in New York. I think it will be a good result there.
On their feelings about the Olympics:
Richardson: For me the Olympics is our biggest stage. Its our Super Bowl. Its our Grammys. Its our Academy Awards. Its our biggest opportunity to show what we can do. For me, its a big issue. Its a big goal. Its something that I always watched on TV when I was little and something that Ive aspired to be a part of and become. I cant sleep at night sometimes. Sometimes I break out in a light sweat just thinking about the pressure of what it means. So its a big deal. And because its such a big deal I know that the competition is going to be at a heighted level, a level that Ive never been able to compete with but have an opportunity to in the future.
I can see a world record happening. I can see some crazy times happening. I can see a lot of history being made at the Olympics because that Olympic spirit is contagious and its pervasive and its something that we only get every four years.
On the hurdles as a showcase event, similar to the 100 meters:
Richardson: It provides a little bit of pressure. But at this level you have to become familiar and friends with pressure. I do feel the pressure of being in a marquee event in the Olympics but pressure makes diamonds and pressure busts pipes. So I can say that I definitely want to shine in the Olympics and that pressure will help. Its an amazing feeling that our event itself in the canon of track and field has been elevated to a marquee event.
On if the Olympic Trials harder than the Olympics:
Merritt: I do think the Trials are harder than the Olympics because there are 9 Americans that can run extremely well. Jason, David (Oliver), myself, Dexter (Faulk), former medalists as well, Terrance Trammell, David Payne. Any American can make the team so its just going to be ridiculous.
On what they are doing day-to-day in training to improve:
Merritt: Ive been working with Ralph Band, hes a USATF guy that comes and he does biomechanics with the Americans, and hes been identifying my weaker points. So Ive been working on those areas of training, one of which is technique because Im already fast, and hurdle clearance. Thats been one of my major issues, clearing the hurdle just a little bit faster. Once I get that down I think my overall time in the event will drop.
Richardson: For myself, its always been technique. I have an interesting story about technique. I kind of have the same technique that Ive had in high school and middle school and weve made alterations, small, here and there as the years have gone on. So Im definitely trying to work on being that textbook technician as a hurdler. But we always work on, which is kind of the thing that a lot of athletes dont work on and thats that eye of the tiger, that competitiveness, that raw ability to get out there at all times to compete. The training that John Smith affords us really pushes us to the limit of what it takes to be an athlete.
There are times where were at the starting line at practice that were exhausted and were tired and we dont think that we can make it through the set, and its practices like that that when you get to a World Championship final or an Olympic final you dont freak out because youve actually had that same type of fatigue and mentality at practice. So Im working on the mental side of track and field as well as the physical.
On theyre looking for in running in New York at the adidas Grand Prix:
Merritt: For me I just want to run a seasonal best. I believe its two weeks out from USAs so to run a PR or a seasonal best before then is always good for your confidence going into our championships.
Richardson: Call me crazy, which Ive been called crazy for awhile, Im trying to break a world record. I have a joke with my agent that every time, every event, no matter what level it is, Im out there trying to break the world record. I say this just to say that when I step on the line, Im trying to do my best. Im trying to get out there and put on a show and just display my talents. I know that with so many good quality people in the field that nothings impossible.
On switching from 8 steps to 7 steps:
Merritt: I made the change because a lot of my top competitors were taking seven steps and its one less step. Knowing the hurdles, everyone takes the same amount of steps so if youre taking seven then that means youre taking one less over the course of the race.
It really allows you to generate more momentum as youre going into the first unit if you actually do seven steps properly. Ive actually been able to mimic my eight-step pattern with seven steps, with one less step. So Im going through the first hurdle faster than Ive ever gone and generating more momentum than I ever done before. Thats the reason for the change.
Dayron Robles paved the way for seven steps for male hurdlers when he broke the world record. It was just phenomenal when he did it and everyone was like, Oh my God, this dude is taking seven steps and were taking eight.
Richardson: Switched to seven last year. It was definitely a roller-coaster. Sometimes I would get it and sometimes I wouldnt but it definitely as made me a better athlete. Now this year the seven steps have become a lot more comfortable. I really have endorsed the cadence and I really think it has helped the latter part of my race, putting me in a better position at the end.
On who they train with day-in and day-outa hurdles-specific group or with flat sprinters:
Merritt: I train with a sprints coach who is primarily good at coaching the hurdles. He coaches the womens sprints and hurdles at Texas A&MVince Anderson. He was my coach my freshman year of college, and then he left and came to A&M. I sought after him after I graduated.
We primarily work on sprinting, and we hurdle twice a week. If we need more hurdling then well hurdle a third time a week, but its not necessary.
Richardson: As everyone in track & field knows in general, theres a man named John Smith, and I train with him. I have the amazing opportunity of having a training partner who just came from Saudi Arabia. Hes really helped me at the beginning of the race because hes a really quick starter. Hes the only hurdler in the group. Hes been here for a couple of weeks now so for the most part Ive been the singular focus. Now I have the opportunity to get feedback in my race in relation to another athlete, so thats been good.
On off days that I dont do hurdles, I am actually doing sprinting workouts with some of the top sprinters in the world. I have the chance to run against and with Walter Dix and Richard Thompson, and I have the chance to feed off the energy Carmelita Jeter affords to practice. The culture we have in the camp is amazing and is what pushes us to do kind of what the impossible calls for. I definitely think that training environment works really well in LA.
I train twice a week (on hurdles) but the sensibility of our program is, if Im a little bit sore or I need more work, I can always add or detract from a hurdle workout. For myself, speed is a major component so we always make sure we keep the flying 60s, we keep the general fitness, and that we cover the training with hurdles.
On how each got started hurdling:
Merritt: When I was in high school, the end of my freshman year, the season had already began. One of my teammates, Reggie Witherspoon who was on the 2008 Olympic team, he dared me to jump a fence, randomly. He was like, I bet you wont jump that fence. And I was like, Alright Im gonna do it. And so I ran up and jumped the fence. I had no technique, anything like that; I just jumped it. My high school coach at the time, Chad Walker, he saw me jumping and said, Youre going to be our hurdler from now on. And so then I pretty much taught myself how to hurdle. I knew the gist of hurdlingit was three steps in between and eight steps to the first hurdleI got that down. I opened up at like 17 seconds. It was terrible. But as the year progressed, I dropped time and ended up running like 14 by the end of the year. I took to it immediately once I learned the rhythm of the hurdles.
Before I jumped the fence, I ran the 100, the 200 and the 400. I wasnt that fast. But as a hurdler, as long as you have rhythm, you can run the hurdles fast.
Richardson: Ive always done the hurdles. I began the hurdles in middle school as an initial way to pay for school. My sisters are eight and six years older than me, and my dad made a little funny comment about paying for school and he wished they were athletes. We joked about it, and that kind of stuck with me. For me, I just kind of mimicked what I saw on TV. Thats why I have a raw technique, and its not too perfect but it works. I just enjoyed it. Ive had coaches whove spent some tears and some energy and some yelling trying to get me to make corrections, but I did come with a certain skill set that was natural. Were just working on making changes to make me better.
On if winning world championships/world indoor championships has changed anything in their lives:Merritt: Winning always changes your life. If you dont win, you dont get the publicity you wouldve gotten if you had won. So its always life changing. You get more exposure, and more people want to talk to you after youve won. Winning always has that effect. For me, winning has given me more confidence going into this outdoor season because I defeated Liu Xiang, and hes no slouch of a hurdler. Hes an amazing hurdler. Its give me more confidence knowing I defeated him on the World scene.
Richardson: Winning the World Championships has definitely affected my bank account. Outside of that, Worlds gives you an indication of where youre at in relation to the other competitors and how much your hard work is actually paying off. It creates a pressure of having to do media obligations and exposure. I had to do the TODAY Show, which was an amazing experience but I just didnt want hit a hurdle and fall on national television. Its theses moments that a World Championship title can bring that actually create an amazing chance to enjoy the sport outside of just going to practice and competing. You get to reach fans, you get to interact with people, you get to really extend the boundaries of what track & field can do.
On why hurdlers face each other more than most sprinters:
Merritt: We want the best results. If you dont race the best people, you dont get the best results. To race the Olympic champion every time you step on the track, to race the American record holder every time you step on the track, its things like that that push you to be just a little bit better.
Richardson: We have 17 competitors at every meet. You have the 7 people at adjacent lanes, then you have the 10 people youre actually trying to jump over that want to keep you from finishing that race. Different than actually sprinting, you know that you have to run your race and get over your hurdles and get over your obstacles. Theres a certain focus that hurdling has that sprinting doesnt have. You cant say a word about whos in the race because you still have to do what you need to do to get over those hurdles and stay on your feet. I think thats why hurdlers arent afraid to compete against each other and arent afraid to race because in essence, we already have our own battles inside our two white lines.
On what it means to compete in an Olympic year:
Merritt: The Olympics is the biggest stage for track & field. No one in the United States at least watches the World Championships. Everyone watches the Olympics. To be an Olympian period is just amazing in and of itself because so many people are so good, and so many people can make the team.
Richardson: For myself I dont have anything to prove except to prove to myself. I definitely feel like momentum is important in track & field. Youre kind of always as good as your last race. Coming off of Worlds, I have the momentum of the outdoor season, and I definitely want to keep that going, keep that rolling, keep that same mentality going throughout the season. The mental part of track as a whole is actually forgotten about. Its an element that a lot of people dont really address. I think that these championships, and the momentum and using that leverage when you compete is whats important. Thats what Im trying to do this year, is making sure, not necessarily that the title I have is respected but just reminding people when its all said and done, I was able to run well and run some great times. Thats whats important going into this year.
I think what yall will see is an Olympic final probably two, three, maybe four times before the actual Olympics. Its gonna be a good year for hurdling. Before the adidas Grand Prix, well definitely compete against each other a few times.
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