Merritt: ‘I was just shocked.’

Obviously, Aries Merritt was very happy with his world record. 12.80 is a great performance, but came kind of unexpectedly. ‘At Lausanne, it didn’t really happen so I had to refocus, but I kept running 12.93. I had hoped to run sub 13 so as to end the season on a high.' Merritt had visited the track on Tuesday and Thursday for training. 'I knew the track was incredibly fast, but not that it was going to be scorching. I think it was the best race of my life, there was no pressure today. Technically it was a good race, I started well and I took on the hurdles well. When the 12.80 popped up on the boards, I was just shocked.' The world record will rock the life of the American athlete and he knows. ‘You know, 12.85 was everything to me, it was the password on my phone. I guess I now have to change that. This is the last race of my season, so I just want to go home now, bring the world record back to the US (where it had been until 1996, ed.)’.