Kirani James of Grenada wins World Championship 400 metres
Kirani James has brought home the gold for Grenada after winning the 400 metre finals at the IAAF World Championships in Korea, with a personal best of 44.60 seconds. This historic personal achievement was accomplished 2-days before James’ nineteenth birthday and stunned defending champion LaShawn Merritt, when James surged passed Merritt just before the line to win the 400 m gold and secure Grenada’s first medal at the World Championships. Both James and fellow Grenadian runner Rondell Bartholomew made the finals of the 400 m event at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
Kirani James (born 1st September 1992) is a Grenadian sprinter who specialises in the 200 and 400 metres. He is the reigning 400 metres world champion. Prodigious from a young age, he ran the fastest 400 m times ever by a 14-year old and a 15-year old. He won a series of gold medals at the CARIFTA Games and the Commonwealth Youth Games and rose on the international stage with 400 m silver medals at the 2007 World Youth and 2008 World Junior Championships. James became the first athlete to run a 200/400 double at the 2009 World Youth Championships and was the 2010 World Junior Champion. He gained an athletic scholarship at the University of Alabama and won back-to-back NCAA Outdoor Championship titles in his first two years. James is the third fastest of all-time indoors (44.80 seconds) and ran a personal best of 44.60 at the 2011 IAAF World Championships. SOURCE: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirani_James In 2009 the Jason Roberts Foundation presented James with their Golden Balls Award for his services to track and field after his performance in the World Youth Championships in Germany winning gold in the 200 and 400 metres. The 2012 Olympics in London, England will be the next to watch. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kirani_James |
