Kirani James not happy despite winning gold at the World Junior Championships
A Grenadian sprinter currently only seventeen years old, Kirani James is a specialist at the two hundred meters and the four hundred meters. He received his first gold medal at the age of just fourteen, succeeding at the four hundred meters at the CARIFTA Games in 2007 with an extremely impressive completion time of just 47.86 seconds.
In the same year, the World Youth Championships provided him with another piece of acknowledgement, silver medals, in lieu of the fastest ever completion time of 46.96 seconds by a fourteen year old. The year of 2008 showed an even upward trend, with Kirani James being able to defend his CARIFTA title for the four hundred meters, and also winning the two hundred meters title, with an astonishing completion time of 21.38 seconds.
The World Junior Championships in the same year provided him with another silver medal, also allowing him to achieve his personal best of 45.7 seconds completion time, in addition to that being the fastest ever run for a fifteen year old athlete in the history of athletics.
The 2008 Commonwealth Games provided him another reason for jubilation, as he was rewarded with another gold medal together with a game record of a completion time of 46.66 seconds to his name.
The 2009 CARIFTA Games proved to be the pinnacle of his athletic career, as he managed to not only beat the defending four hundred meters champion, but also set a personal best of 45.45 seconds, surpassing Usain Bolt’s six year mark of 46.35 seconds; a feat that will truly remain memorable for this aspiring athlete for the remainder of his life.
Just recently, James lowered his personal best further down to 45.01 seconds at the SEC Championships, demonstrating the fact that this athlete is one of a kind.
Rooted as one of the favourites to emerge successful at the 2010 World Junior Championships, Kirani James certainly did live up to the expectations, receiving his third gold medal in twelve months.
Yet it is amusing and at the same time admirable to discover that this Grenadian athlete is not pleased to full entirety, owing to the fact that he ran four hundred meters at the recent event for a total time of 45.89 seconds, while his current personal best is just over three seconds lower.
For an athlete who is continuously linked to Usain Bolt by pundits and specialists alike, such is a concern that seems to be justifiable. Nevertheless, another gold medal to continue the winning spree is delightful, and certainly a great feat to accomplish for an athlete so young.
James did admit in a statement that his legs felt heavy and not the same as before, probably owing to the number of tournaments at which this young star has participated in the current season, emerging successful at each single one of them.
With a perfect season so far, Kirani James has significantly large number of reasons to rejoice despite his disappointment in himself that he did not further depress his personal best. About to commence a well deserved break from the world of athletics, James has clearly delivered a strong message to the world: his star studded presence, his beautifully articulated performances, his level of consistency and most importantly his desire to do more with every tournament not only makes him a pivotal asset for his country, but also a mere delight to watch for the rest of the world.
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