Above: Kirani James (FP)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Grenadian officials were ecstatic over the potential impact of sprinter Kirani James’ gold medal at the 400-meter World Championships.

“There’s no price that we can put on Kirani’s victory,” said Tourism Minister Peter David, who watched what he called a “thrilling” race on television. James won the sprint in a personal-best time of 44.60 seconds.

“I was just trying to stay as relaxed as possible and just follow my individual race plan and finish strong,” he said.

Where Grenada could capitalise the most on the victory is in the burgeoning sports tourism sector, something several CARICOM countries have broached in recent months. It could lead to more interaction between tourism and sports in the country and engaging Grenada’s athletes to help market the island.

“This engagement with stars such as Kirani James will be stepped up and intensified,” David said. “The triumphant moment by Kirani is a proud moment for him, his family, his coaches and Grenada. It’s also a golden opportunity for sports and tourism in our nation.”