Aries Merritt, LaShawn Merritt, Evan Jager and Tyson Gay are among the veteran Olympic and world medalists who will not compete at next week’s USATF Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa.
The registration deadline passed on Tuesday with Aries Merritt, Jager and Gay not listed among the entered athletes. LaShawn Merritt, the 2008 Olympic 400m champion (no relation to Aries), was listed as scratched from the 200m and 400m.
The agent for Aries Merritt and Gay confirmed they are out. Jager is out with a foot injury, his agent said, confirming a LetsRun.com report.
LaShawn Merritt, Aries Merritt (2012 Olympic 110m hurdles champion and world-record holder), Gay (2007 World 100m and 200m champion) and Jager (2016 Olympic silver medalist) have raced limited schedules in the last year, all or some due to injuries.
By missing nationals, none can qualify for the world championships in Doha in September and October.
All four men have lengthy streaks of competing at nationals in Olympic or world championships years: Gay since 2004, Aries Merritt since 2005, Jager since 2009 and LaShawn Merritt since 2012.
Lolo Jones, a Summer and Winter Olympian, is also not listed on the entries. Her agent said last month that Jones is “rehabbing and working herself back from a few injuries” as she works toward Tokyo 2020.
OlympicTalk is on Apple News. Favorite us!