Aries Merritt successfully undergoes kidney transplant - SI.com
Just four days after winning a bronze medal in the 110-meter hurdles at the 2015 IAAF World Championships, Olympic champion and world record holder Aries Merritt successfully underwent a kidney transplant on Tuesday morning at the Mayo Clinic in... In 2013, Merritt went to the hospital and was told by doctors that his kidney function was less than 15% because he was dealing with a collapsing variant of focal segmental glomerulosclerosis. He was told that he would need a transplant in May, but he decided to continue competing through August's global championship in Beijing. Former NBA star Alonzo Mourning also underwent a kidney transplant for FSGS in 2003, and returned to the court to play for the New Jersey Nets and Miami Heat until his retirement in Jan. On Friday night, Merritt ran his fastest 110-meter hurdle race since setting the world record of 12. 80 in 2012 to win a bronze medal while operating on less than 20% kidney function. “This feat that I pulled off today—this bronze medal—is going to shine brighter than my gold for sure because despite everything I was going through, I still was able to pull of a medal and a season's best of 13. 04,” Merritt told LetsRun. Merritt expects to make a full recovery and attempt to make his second U. S. Olympic team before. Source: www.si.com
