Bruce Merritt competed in C1 and C2 canoeing at both the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. He also competed at the 1987 Pan American Games, winning gold in C1-1,000 and bronze in C2-500. Merritt attended St. Mary’s College where he competed on their canoe and kayak team. After the 1984 Olympics the school awarded him their Ark & Dove Award. Merritt was on the US national team from 1981-88, competing at the 1981-83 and 1985-87 World Championships. He later coached the US national team until returning to college at age 34 at Indiana University – Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI) to earn his degree. He started working in quality assurance in 1994, starting in the scrap metal industry, and from 1998 onwards was a quality assurance manager, working with Pyromation, a manufacturer of temperature sensors, from 2002.