Kirani James, 19, made history on Aug. 6 as the first Grenadian to ever win an Olympic medal as he won gold in the men’s 400- meter race of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London.
Now the small Caribbean island will celebrate the success of its greatest athlete ever.
“I think there are quite a few street parties going on in Grenada,” James told reporters after the race. “I just go out there and just try to do my best in terms of representing my country in a positive way. As long as I do that, they are going to be proud of me, and as long as they are proud of me I’m happy with that. But just being there and this being an Olympic gold medal, this is a huge step for our country in terms of stepping up to the plate in track and field, just going out there and putting us on the map.”
James won the race with a time of 43.94 seconds, nearly a full second ahead of silver medal finisher, Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic. Lalonde Gordon of Trinidad and Tobago took bronze at 44.52.
Though this is his first Olympic Games appearance, James did win gold in the 400 meters finals of 2011 World Championships in Daegu. He also won the 2010 and 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 400 meters as a member of University of Alabama’s track and field team.