Aries Merritt: “My sister means everything to me. She gave me a second chance at life.”

Exactly 10 years ago to this day the USA’s Aries Merritt broke the 110m world record. For many athletes, such an accomplishment would be their ultimate achievement; the trophy that means the most to them after years of hard work, pain and sacrifice.

But for Merritt, there is a trophy he holds dearer than any record or race victory he has achieved: life itself.

A chance encounter marks the beginning of a journey to Olympic gold

Sometimes the start of a great journey begins with the discovery of an unexpected path. Merritt's road to athletics greatness began when he was spotted messing about with friends at school.

“I was just a little kid doing crazy stunts, and in high school I jumped a fence and the coach came down and he saw me jump it, and he was like, 'Hey, you’re gonna be the hurdler,'” Merritt recalled in an exclusive interview with Olympics.com at the 2022 World Athletics Championships in Oregon.

“And I didn’t have any technique, any form. I just jumped over the fence kind of ghetto-like and the rest is history.”

The young athlete’s rise as a hurdler was rapid and saw him accept a place at the University of Tennessee where he began breaking records, becoming a seven-time All-American and winning gold at the 2004 Junior World Championships.

And that was just the beginning.

The Olympics: “The pinnacle of all pinnacles of sport”

After missing out on the 2008 Olympics in Beijing due to injury, Aries was raring to go four years later at London 2012.

“Going to London healthy and ready to compete, it was just about execution and getting across that line,” he remembered of the competition that took place in front of a crowd of 60,000 at the purpose-built London Stadium.

“And nothing was going to stop me from executing that race to the best of my ability.”

After Athens 2004 gold medallist and pre-tournament favourite Liu Xiang crashed out in the opening rounds, Merritt stormed to victory in the final in a personal best time of 12.92 to take home gold at his first Olympics.

“It’s just like the pinnacle of all pinnacles of sport,” he said, looking back on that day. “As athletes we wish that we can be Olympians, we wish that we can be on that Olympic stage and win an Olympic medal.”

A world record, a toothache and an ever-supportive sister

A month after his victory at London 2012, Merritt was still in Europe as the season drew to a close.

The final race of his year was the Diamond League Final, set to take place in Brussels on 7 September. But Merritt was in no mood to compete that day.

“I really didn’t care if I won the Diamond League or not, because I was so ready to go home,” he said. “I’d been in Europe for three months and I just wanted to sleep in my own bed.

“And I had a toothache. I had to have a wisdom tooth extraction as soon as I got back to the States - it was a lot.”

With the pain in his tooth all he could concentrate on, Merritt’s only sister arrived in Belgium to support him. She offered to go to the pharmacy to buy him something to relieve the pain, but with the strict rules regarding anti-doping he refused her gesture of help.

“I’m just going to suffer through the pain and just run,” he thought.

And boy did he run.

In a race that has never been eclipsed to this day, Merritt stormed to the line in 12.80 seconds to become the new world record holder.

“I wanted to get home,” he said looking back on the lead-up to the race. “But maybe I was rewarded with the world record for my patience.”

From the ultimate high to a crushing low

Just a year after his Olympic victory and world record run Merritt’s life changed forever.

The new season had been punctuated by a series of injuries and a lack of form that left Merritt and his coaching team scratching their heads.

After making the final of the Moscow 2013 World Championships, Merritt came home a disappointing sixth in a time of 13.31, close to half a second off his world record.

“When I got back to the States I just felt sick,” he explained of the days after the final. “My legs are feeling like play dough, you touch them and they would indent, so that’s oedema in the legs.

“From there I couldn’t hold any food down, I was sleeping an abnormal amount… I was almost sleeping for 20 hours.”

When Merritt went to seek medical help, the news he received from the doctors left him devastated.

“They ran a lot of tests and it comes out that it’s a genetic disorder, and the genetic disorder is that my immune system attacked my kidneys.”

Struggles, rumours and denial

For athletes used to constantly pushing themselves to achieve their best, admitting to any type of weakness is often one of the hardest things to do.

Merritt’s response to the news about his condition was to just keep going, hiding behind the distraction of training and competition.

“I was trying my best to cope with it as best I could, while still trying to train with literally no kidneys,” he explained matter-of-factly.

After a period where he received treatment at the Mayo Clinic, ran with a sleeve on his arm to hide the IV treatment he was receiving to keep his kidneys functioning, and was unable to reach the heights of athletic performance he had seen on those unforgettable days in 2012, people began asking questions.

“They’re trying to figure out, ‘Why is Aries not running as fast as he did the last year, and what’s happening? Was that a fluke? Was he on drugs? Was he doping?’

“There was all this speculation about what was going on but in actuality what was happening was that I was in the Mayo Clinic being treated for kidney failure and trying to recover my kidneys without going through dialysis.”

A ray of hope in the form of a sister

Sometimes circumstances force you to face the truth. For Merritt, that moment arrived when he was told he needed a kidney transplant by 2016 at the latest.

And just as she did at the world record race in 2012, Merritt’s sister stood by his side. She offered one of her own kidneys to keep her brother alive.

The surgery was scheduled for August 2015, just three days after the final of the 110m hurdles at the World Athletics Championships but, despite everything, Merritt was determined to race.

However before any of that could happen, he needed to admit to the public - and perhaps even himself - the struggles he had been going through.

“I just got to my breaking point. I just couldn’t handle this mental strain any longer with no-one knowing what I was going through,” he remembered, before recalling how he broke the news to the world:

“I’m having a kidney transplant three days after the finals of the 110 hurdles and now, hopefully you guys can understand why my performance has not been where I want it to be.”

A second chance at life

Despite his fears about his upcoming surgery, Merritt did race in the 2015 World Championships.

And not only that, he won a medal.

Sleeping 16 hours a day between each round of competition and unable to eat, it is a miracle that Merritt made it to the final - let alone claimed bronze.

But after another triumph on the athletics track, Merritt’s greatest victory came three days later when, with his sister by his side, he went through a successful kidney transplant surgery that has given him a new lease of life - in the most literal sense.

It allowed him to continue with his career for another four years and even compete in one more World Championships where he finished fifth in the final in London in 2017. Now he continues to be involved in the field of athletics, even mentoring the USA's Trey Cunningham who placed second at this year's World Athletics Championships in Oregon.

So when asked what his sister means to him, Merritt is clear in his repsonse.

“My sister means everything to me, she gave me a second chance at life, she allowed me to continue to run for four more years after 2015. She allowed me to be able to walk and have a normal life. And so I wouldn’t be here without my sister’s help.

“She gave me her kidney, she gave me a second chance at life. So I’m forever grateful.”