In their first race of the 2012 season, Icon's 400-meter duo of LaShawn Merritt and Jeshua Anderson each took aim at the 500-meter dash.

At the end of the 2012 Millrose Games at The Armory, both men were proud of a 1-2 finish.

It was LaShawn who took the top spot, in an impressive time of 1:01.39. Jeshua was a close second, in 1:01.86. Watch the race in its entirety below:

LaShawn took the first place finish in a longer race than he is used to running to be a strong sign for the coming year.

"Being a 200m-400m guy and finishing a 500m that strong tells me it's going to be a great season," he told IAAF.org.

Jeshua said he was pleased with both his time and performance, but looked at the event as a training ground against some of the world's elite more than anything else.

"I think it went well," he told FloTrack. "I've been running 800's, 600's, not too much fast stuff, but after the 400, [the 500] is really a gutsy race. It felt good…I think I ran well. Everyone is still grinding for Olympic trails. It's just a great training tool for me."

Watch Jeshua's whole chat with FloTrack below:

In addition, LaShawn told FloTrack that he was not only pleased with his performance, but the way he was able to kick it up a notch in the final 100 meters. With a strong burst in the closing 100, he came within a 1.22 seconds of a world record.

"Some things happened in the race that I wish didn't happen, but I got through it, I won and I'm pleased," he said. "That last 100 I felt good. I felt like I came home strong and in control. 500 meters is a little longer anyway. But after the race, I feel good and I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."

LaShawn also held true to his promise to give away his cleats from Millrose to the fan who predicted the correct time for his run on FloTrack.org. He signed the cleats and had a special shout out for his fans and supporters in his post race interview. Watch below:

Watch more video of 105th Millrose Games 2012 on flotrack.org

RELATED STORIES

• Millrose Results (Armory Track, Feb. 11, 2012)
• Bernard Lagat breaks U.S. record in 5,000 meters at Millrose Games (New York Daily News, Feb. 12, 2012)
• Runner Leaves College, and Everyone Else, Far Behind in Wanamaker Mile (NY Times, Feb. 12, 2012)
• LaShawn Merritt Signing His Shoes for Prediction Contest Winner (FloTrack, Feb. 11, 2012)
• U.S. 5000m record for Lagat in New York (IAAF.org, Feb. 12, 2012)
• Jeshua Anderson 2nd in 500m At Millrose Games 2012 (FloTrack, Feb. 11, 2012) 

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