Aries Merritt, photo by World Athletics
In 2012, Aries Merrit won the Olympic gold medal. He had begun the year with a gold at the WC Indoor in Istanbul. Aries Merritt was looking to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, and now is training, looking at 2021.
This column on Aries Merritt is in Postcards from North America, is from World Athletics. World Athletics commented on the series: “We conclude our Area in Focus series look at North America, the Caribbean and Central America with a selection of images which show how athletes from the area have dealt with the coronavirus pandemic.”
To see the entire column, click here:https://www.worldathletics.org/news/feature/north-america-athletics-coronavirus-photos
For Merritt, Olympic postponement is ‘not a dream denied’
Aries Merritt, the 2012 Olympic champion and world record holder in the 110m hurdles, spent part of his lockdown training in Scottsdale and Sedona, Arizona, in the US southwest. “Training during this pandemic has been challenging to say the least,” he said. But he also welcomed the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games.
“A dream deferred is not a dream denied,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “Having to wait for a chance to potentially win the Olympics again after adversity is something that I have been pushing for since my kidney transplant. A lot of you know my story and what I have been through, but only a few of you know my day to day routines and struggles. I will be ready no matter how long it takes.”
Aries Merritt, photo by World Athletics