News28 Feb 2011


Teen phenom James smashes through 45-second barrier in Fayetteville

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Kirani James improves on the silver he won two years ago with gold in the 400m (© Getty Images)

Grenadian teenager Kirani James joined some exclusive company after his 400m heroics at the Southeastern Conference (SEC) Championships in Fayetteville, USA, on Sunday (27).

Competing for the University of Alabama, the 2009 World youth and 2010 World junior champion in the event sizzled to a sensational 44.80 victory, a performance that catapulted the 18-year-old to the No. 3 spot all-time. Only World indoor record holder Kerron Clement (44.57) and all-time great Michael Johnson (44.63) have covered the distance faster indoors.

In the first sub-45 second run of his career, James also shattered the previous World junior indoor best of 44.93 set by reigning Olympic champion Lashawn Merritt on the same fast Fayetteville track in 2006. James started fast, clocking 45.37 in the first round on Friday, a short-lived world leader.

American Tony McQuay, the winner of the other section, finished second overall with a PB 45.21 to move up to No. 10 all-time. An hour later, the 20-year-old came back to win the 200m in 20.61, also a career best for the student from the University of Florida.

The short dashes were quick too. Nineteen-year-old Kimberlyn Duncan clocked a world-leading 22.78 to take the women's 200m on Sunday. Running in the second race Semoy Hackett of Trinidad & Tobago set a new national record clocking 22.84 to finish second overall. Hackett also clocked 22.86 in the heats on Saturday (26).

South Carolina’s Kya Brookins, the 2009 NCAA indoor 60m champion, took the short dash in 7.14, with Hackett the distant runner-up in 7.25.

Jeffery Demps captured the men’s 60m in 6.55, well ahead of Harry Adams who clocked 6.63. Both were personal bests.

Solid men’s Triple Jump competition

While most of the top class action was in the sprints, there were some standout performances on the infield as well.

In one of the finest Triple Jump competitions anywhere this year, 20-year-old Christian Taylor prevailed with a 17.36m leap, catapulting him to the No. 4 spot on the 2011 world list. It was the farthest leap ever by Taylor, the 2007 World youth champion in the event, surpassing his 17.02m previous best set outdoors last year. His University of Florida teammate, 19-year-old Will Claye, was second at 17.17m, elevating him to spot No. 8 in the world this season. His mark was just shy of his absolute career best of 17.19m set outdoors in 2009, a US junior record.

Jamaicans Tarik Batchelor and Damar Forbes, competing for the University of Arkansas and Louisiana State University, respectively, finished 1-2 in the Long Jump. Batchelor reached 8.07m to outdistance Forbes' 8.00m. Both were personal bests for the 20-year-olds.

In the women's Pole Vault, Slovenia's Tina Sutej improved her own national record, topping 4.54m. The 2006 World junior silver medallist, who has an outdoor best of 4.50m, also added one centimetre to the NCAA indoor best, eclipsing Any Linnen whose mark had stood since 2002.

Bob Ramsak for the IAAF
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