Kirani James: A Sign of Things to Come?
At just 19 years of age, one would be forgiven for describing Kirani James as a force of nature. A prodigious talent, at 14 he won Silver at the 2007 World Youth Championships in a time of 46.96 seconds. This still stands as the fastest time ever run by a 14 year old. Following these remarkable achievements was a gold medal at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu and at Gold Medal at this years Olympic Games on London. So the question is raised, what is next for this remarkable young man?
One cannot rule out the possibility that Kirani James is an early developer and perhaps we are reading too much into his impressive age defying feats. This certainly mirrors swimmer Ian Thorpes early rise to success when he became the youngest person at 14 years and 5 months to be selected for the Australian national swimming team. It has been said as well that James' technique is not entirely flawless as he has a propensity for letting his left leg stray outwards when landing. Despite this minor hindrance, he has still managed to clock the ninth fastest 400 meter ever run. Despite using the early development argument to explain his early rise to prominence, he can still take a claim as being one of the fatest 400 meter runners alive. Not bad for a teenager.
So the question remains, is there more to come from James. I feel however that these questions can often overshadow what has already been achieved. A world and Olympic Champion who still isnt old enough to buy liquor is impressive by anyone's standards. He has already a built a successful albeit brief career for himself. The fact remains that James is still way off Michael Johnson's World Record time of 43.18 seconds. Even the great man himself, Johnson has said that with a bit of time and work on his technique he sees no reason why James will mount a series challenge on Johnson's record. Kirani still has over a decade of racing in him and what the future holds remains to be seen.
