http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=trackandfield&id=2026286
Associated Press DES MOINES, Iowa -- A guy wins a couple of gold medals at the age of 20 and now he's talking about breaking a world record. Then again, this was Jeremy Wariner speaking, so it's best not to doubt him. Wariner burst onto the international track scene last year as a scrawny sprinter from Baylor, winning the gold medal in the 400 meters at the Athens Olympics and adding a second gold with the U.S. 1,600 relay team. He has since turned pro and is setting up his schedule for a run at the U.S. and world championships this year -- and the world 400 record of 43.18 seconds held by Baylor's most famous sprinter, Michael Johnson. Most famous for now, anyway. "I think he thinks I can (break it), but he doesn't want to admit it," Wariner said Wednesday. "I don't think he wants to see it broken yet." Johnson is Wariner's agent, so they talk frequently. Wariner's goal is to break Johnson's record this year or next. He won the Olympic race in 44-flat and says he's stronger and quicker now than he was at this time last year, so why not go for it? Wariner said he and Baylor coach Clyde Hart already have talked about it. "We both agreed that was a possible thing for me to do this year or next year," said Wariner, who'll run the 400 at the Drake Relays on April 30. "If I do whatever I'm supposed to do every day in practice, run each meet the best I can, lay it all out on the track, there's a great possibility." And if Wariner doesn't break it, maybe someone else will because the United States is thick with outstanding 400 runners. U.S. runners swept all three Olympic medals last year and Wariner trains at Baylor alongside Darold Williamson, who ran on the relay team at Athens. Then there are teenage sensations Kerron Clement and LaShawn Merritt. Clement, 19, broke Johnson's world indoor record in the 400 at the NCAA meet on March 12, running a 44.57. Merritt, 18, who already has turned pro, ran a 44.93 indoor 400 in February. "We have so much talent," Wariner said. "At U.S. nationals, maybe a low 44 won't even make the team. There's going to be some fast times. I think there will be at least a few of us going under 44 this year." With all those runners pushing each other, Wariner figures the times will just keep dropping. "I honestly believe there's a chance I might be able to go under 43," he said. "When that it is, it might be five or six years. I don't know when that is right now." Wariner insists he's still the same person he was before his Olympic fame. OK, he did buy a Mercedes and he moved into a duplex a few miles outside Waco. But he still takes classes at Baylor and still trains with the Baylor track team, goofing off with the other runners at practice until it's time to get serious. "I get noticed a lot more at track meets and maybe at the mall I'll be recognized a lot more," Wariner said. "But I'm still the same. I work as hard as I can in practice, I'm going to class, nothing has really changed." On Hart's advice, Wariner skipped the indoor season to get some additional rest. He made his 2005 debut running a leg in the 1,600 relay at Baylor's Dr Pepper Invitational last weekend. Wariner will run each of the next two weekends but won't do an open 400 until the Michael Johnson Classic at Baylor on April 23. After his Athens success, Wariner knows what's expected of him now: a great race every time he runs. "Basically what I have to do is go out there and do what I do every day in practice -- work hard, don't slack on any workout, just run my best race," he said. "If I have a bad meet, I have a bad meet. I can't let that affect me." ENDS
