James raged to first place in a time of 44.55s at the Grix Prox Lambodia. He ran in Lane 6, giving the season’s best performance. James delivered a last burst to beat runner-up Fred Kerley of the United States by 100th of a second at National Stadium in Kingston. The 24-year-old James came from behind with almost 40 meters remaining to catch Kerley, who got off to a quick start.
The Grenadian athlete continues to shine for his country as he finished first in the final of the Neutrogena Men’s 400m at the 2024 USATF NYC Grand Prix on Sunday. Born in the little fishing village of Gouyave, in the Caribbean island nation of Grenada, on 1 September 1992, he first made his mark in track and field in his teenage years, recording the fastest ever 400m time by a 14-year-old and running a world best again when he turned 15.
In the Paris Olympics, he went to the finals of the men’s 400m after securing first position in the semi-final round with a bursting time of 43.78 seconds. Kirani James won three medals at the Olympic Games, including one gold medal at the 2012 London Diversions, one silver medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, and one bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Right after the Paris Olympics, he took part in the Rome Diamond League and won the silver award in the Men’s 400m with a time of 44.30 seconds. He expressed happiness in representing his nation at the international level and gave his best for the people who love him.
The Grenadian, who won gold and silver at the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Diversions, had declared in a pre-meet press conference Friday that he was suffering from an auto-immune disease.
While battling the disease, the athlete stated, “I found out I had Graves’ disease, and for individuals who do not know what that is, it’s a disease that influences your thyroid. And when it exaggerates it influences your hormones, speeds up your digestion system, weight loss, muscle weaknesses, shortness of breath, and a lot of other symptoms; sometimes it varies. So, I had to see specialists and be on medication.”
Grenada’s Olympic champion Kirani James continues to remind the world why he is nicknamed The Jaguar as the star athlete. The Ministry of Sports in Grenada congratulated Kirani on his performance.
After the race, he told reporters, “I am just getting back to racing after a year and a few months and trying to remain focused and determined.”
