Above: Kirani James
By the Caribbean Journal staff
Grenada’s government promised Kirani James a reward following his Olympic win in London last summer, and it delivered the first cheque to the young sprinting star this week.
The cheque, valued at $37,037 USD, came along with treasury bills, for a total of $185,185 USD.
“On behalf of the government and people of this country, I want to present you with this EC$100,000 dollar cheque for what you have achieved so far and hope will be more successes in the future,” Prime Minister Keith Mitchell said. “I can tell you that under this government all Treasury Bills are sacrosanct. Kirani, you can rest assured that you can cash this EC$400,000 in Treasury Bills.”
The government said Kirani would receive $100,000 EC ($37,037) each year until the $400,000 EC balance on the bills was exhausted.
“Kirani, we want you to know that at 19 years you attained heroic status- an icon of this country and nothing will change that,” Mitchell told James. “Remember that one can [ever] be always at the top in every attempt; but you will be at the top in terms of how you treat the result and the commitment to pursue further successes. This is what will be the test of the true Kirani James.”
Mitchell said he was confident that James would “continue to make us proud.”
James, still just 21 years of age, said he was inspired to continue to represent Grenada on the world stage.
“Going out there and performing to the best of my ability not only for me but for everyone in this country, has given him so much pride and upliftment; it is really unconditional”, he said.