Kidney disease won’t stop US hurdler

BEIJING – When the doctors hooked Aries Merritt onto the dialysis machine two years ago, they told him his running days were over.

The doctors were focused on his kidneys.

They never looked at his heart.

The American won a bronze medal in the 110-meter hurdles Friday night at the world championships – a victory he’ll have less than four days to celebrate. Next Tuesday, he’ll be on the operating table for a kidney transplant.

“This bronze medal means more to me than my Olympic gold,” said the 2012 Olympic champion, who also set the world record later that year. “If I was a normal human being, we might have seen a record, who knows? But the reality is, I’m not a normal human being.”