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ONE FOR THE FUTURE: Grenada’s Kirani James (C) celebrates after winning the men’s 400m final at the Olympic Games yesterday |
James, the 19-year-old reigning world champion, dominated the field to win in 43.94sec, with Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic, who is also 19, taking silver in 44.46sec while Trinidad and Tobago’s Lalonde Gordon took bronze.
The Grenadan made his move in the final 150m, coming off the bend with a clear lead and never looked like being caught.
He also became the first non-US athlete to dip under 44 seconds for the one-lap race.
When asked how it felt to win the Caribbean island nation’s first medal, he said: “It’s a very proud feeling, very proud, just proud of everybody, what we’ve been through. I am just happy.
“It’s probably crazy at home right now. There’s probably a huge road party right now in the streets so I don’t think there’s any words that can describe the celebration,” he said.
James said his time showed he was “on the right track to do some good things” but that breaking the long-standing world record of 43.18sec held by US great Michael Johnson was not on his mind for now.
He dismissed suggestions that the absence of the reigning Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt of the United States, who pulled up injured in the first round in London, had made him the favourite.
“You have to respect all the eight guys in the race. They are very capable of doing great things so I just went out there and tried to run my own race.”
Johnson set his world record in 1999 but he said after the race James had the potential to threaten his time.
“I am sure he will have a world record in his sights—my world record—and he could very well be the one to break it because he is a tremendous talent,” Johnson told BBC TV.
“And he is very young and he has many, many years to learn more about this event.” The United States has been utterly dominant in the 400m on the Olympic stage since Victor Markin, representing the former Soviet Union, won in the boycott-blighted 1980 Moscow Olympics, where the US did not compete.
Last year James became the second youngest world gold medallist when he outdipped Merritt.
James set world age-group records for the 400m when he was 13, 14 and 15, winning double 200-400m golds at the 2009 world youth championships, before being crowned world junior champion in the 400m a year later.
While Usain Bolt ran 45.35sec for the 400m as a 16-year-old, James timed 45.24 at the same age.
After another 18 medals were settled on day 10, China remained two clear of the United States at the top of the medals table with 31 golds. Hosts Great Britain were third with 18.
But the campaign of Italy’s 50km walk champion Alex Schwazer was over after he admitted doping and said his career was over, following a failed test for banned blood-booster EPO.
“My career is over. I made a mistake,” Schwazer, 27, told ANSA news agency by telephone. “I wanted to be stronger for this Olympics, I was wrong.”
And American judoka Nicholas Delpopolo was kicked out after admitting eating food spiked with marijuana—although he said he did it by “mistake”.
Usain Bolt emerged from late-night celebrations and warned he was “ready to go again” after retaining his 100m title on Sunday. The Jamaican, seeking his second successive Olympic sprint treble, is in the 200m heats on Tuesday.
Despite his heavy schedule, the relaxed Bolt found time to party with three members of Sweden’s women’s handball team, tweeting a picture of them together in the small hours of Monday morning. Former world judo champion Edith Bosch said she tackled a man who threw a plastic bottle onto the track as the 100m started. The man, a vending-machine technician from northern England, was later arrested. Jason Kenny claimed Britain’s sixth track cycling gold of the Games as he beat France’s Gregory Bauge in the men’s sprint, to deafening noise at the Olympic Park Velodrome.
Britain also ended a 60-year wait for team show jumping gold at Greenwich Park, while their men’s basketball team won for the first ever time at an Olympics, 90-58 against China.
China’s triple Olympic champion gymnast Chen Yibing announced his retirement after being edged by Brazil’s Arthur Zanetti in the men’s rings final. Xu Lijia’s women’s Laser sailing win was China’s only gold medal of the day.
Meanwhile American swimming great Michael Phelps defended Chinese prodigy Ye Shiwen and said it was “sad” that her Olympic performances had been greeted with scepticism.
“It’s kind of sad that people have a great swim and that’s the first thing they say,” Phelps said in an interview with CNN.