ZURICH, Switzerland — Jeremy Wariner put the disappointment of the Olympics defeat behind him to beat his gold medal rival LaShawn Merritt in the 400 meters Friday night in the Weltklasse meet.

Blanka Vlasic (L-R) of Croatia, Usain Bolt of Jamaica and Jeremy Wariner of the US talk with other winners during the IAAF Golden League athletics meeting at the Letzigrund stadium in Zurich, August 29, 2008. [Agencies]

Wariner, a former Arlington Lamar and Baylor standout, ran a strong bend to hold at bay Merritt, running lane three inside him, and kicked clear in the final straight to win in 43.82, his fastest time of the season.

"I had Merritt behind me to push me on," Wariner said. "I ran a season best and I plan to improve on that in Brussels and Stuttgart. I want to end up as world number one at the end of the year."