USA's Merritt wins gold in hurdles

London, England – Aries Merritt of the United States won gold at his first Olympics, taking the men's 110-meter hurdles in convincing fashion.

Merritt finished with a time of 12.92 seconds to beat fellow American Jason Richardson by .12 seconds. It marked the 20th time a U.S. hurdler has taken gold in this event and the first since Allen Johnson at the 1996 Atlanta Games. That was also the last time Americans finished in the gold and silver positions in the 110m hurdles.

Richardson, the reigning world champion, was .08 seconds ahead of Jamaica's Hansle Parchment.

Defending Olympic champion and current world-record holder Dayron Robles of Cuba pulled up lame and was disqualified.