Can Anyone Dethrone Quarter-Miler King James?

By O’Neil A. Reid Posted on :2/10/2012

By O’Neil A. Reid Grenada’s Kirani “King” James is the one to beat this season. The nineteen-year- old Gouyave native took the track and field world by storm in 2011, becoming the youngest ever 400m world champion. The 2011 season was special for James who set personal bests in the 400m indoors (44.80 seconds) and outdoors (44.36 seconds). Along the way, he collected the NCAA 400m outdoor title as a student at the University of Alabama (UAB) and captured the 2011 400m Diamond League trophy despite joining the tour in August 2011. With a new season comes new challenges and this season being an Olympics year has only added to the intrigue. Will King James dominate the one-lap event? Will he become a force to be reckoned with? The answer is a resounding Yes. World-Leader In his 2012 season debut at the New Balance Grand Prix at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston, Massachusetts on February 4^th, James picked up right where he left off, taking the lead at the 200m mark and pulling away from a very competitive field for the win in a world-leading time of 45.96 seconds. This outcome was quite different from his last indoor competitive race at the 2011 NCAA Indoor Championship when he fell in the finals and did not finish the race. The Boston race was well executed as James was able to use his 200m speed to get to the front of the pack and then used his strong finish to keep the competition in check. This strategy if employed throughout the rest of the indoor season will not only ensure numerous victories but serves to avoid tripping or other mishap that could affect James performance. The Competition While James’s main competitors (Jeremy Wariner, LaShawn Merritt) have yet to make their season debut, James has sounded the alarm. And while the season is very early, one cannot underestimate the significance of starting the season on a winning note. Whether indoor or outdoor, James is set to dominate. He has the experience running indoors and so victory at the World Indoor Championship (Istanbul, Turkey) is very attainable. His experience running two indoor seasons at UAB should help him in conquering the nuisances of the indoor track. This experience should prepare him to stand atop the podium at the 2012 World Indoor Championships in mid-March. The Struggle is Over Despite all of the accolades earned (the World Junior and World Youth titles), James initially struggled to run sub- 45.00 seconds. He had the distinction of going sub-45 indoors (44.80) before going sub-45 outdoors. At the end of last season, James was a constant sub-45 performer and was beating the world’s best (LaShawn Merritt, Jermaine Gonzales) in the process. His body has become accustomed to running sub-45. So this season he may join the sub-44.00 club with Wariner and Merritt, the only current runners in this exclusive club. James deserves the glory because of his hard work and discipline. King James has been a winner at all levels (Carifta Games 400m champion, World Youth, World Junior, and 400m World Champion). The World Indoor title and the Olympic Gold medal are two hardware that are missing from King James’s trophy case. The question is: can anyone deny King James quest for these two hardware in 2012?