Associated Press

Anna Willard goes over the last barrier to win the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase final.

EUGENE, Ore. -- Before he kneeled into the starting blocks, LaShawn Merritt tugged on his new necklace -- the red-white-and-blue one his friend gave him before the race.

When it was over, after he beat the once-invincible Jeremy Wariner for the second time in five weeks, Merritt looked like a good candidate to have some gold dangling from that neck in Beijing next month.

Merritt proved once again Thursday that the men's 400 meters is anything but a foregone conclusion this summer, defeating the defending Olympic champion at the U.S. track and field trials to set up a big Olympic rematch.

"My whole motto is, 'If I didn't think I could win, I shouldn't train as hard as I do,' " Merritt said. "Point blank, nobody trains hard to be No. 2 in the world. If you're racing and get second place, you go back and train harder to be No. 1."

Wariner still did enough to earn his spot on the Olympic team in his best event.

"I made the team, now my next goal is to win the Olympics," Wariner said. "It's going to motivate me to work harder. The trials is one thing, the games is the bigger one."

Merritt finished in 44 seconds flat, defeating Wariner by 0.20. Earning the third Olympic spot was national indoor champion David Neville.

Merritt wore the necklace his massage therapist made for him.

"The red, white and blue is about making the team," Merritt said. "I crossed the line, got on the podium and got on the team."

In the women's 400, Sanya Richards won and Mary Wineberg and Dee Dee Trotter captured the other two spots. Richards won in 49.89.

In the women's steeplechase, Anna Willard set an American record, finishing the 3,000-meter race in 9 minutes, 27.59 seconds.

Brittney Reese won the women's long jump with a personal-best jump of 22 feet, 9¾ inches, the best by an American this year.

Virginia Tech's Kristen Callan was 23rd in the women's hammer throw prelims (192-3).

On Friday, William Fleming and George Mason graduate Ryan McCoy was 22nd in the triple jump prelims (50-9 ¹₂).