Above: Kirani James

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Grenadian sprinting superstar Kirani James set a meet record Thursday in winning the 400M at the Ostrava Golden Spike IAAF World Challenge in the Czech Republic.

The win came after a second-place finish in the 400M at the Prefontaine Classic Diamond League meet in Oregon earlier this month.

James finished in 44.49, beating the match record of 44.70 set by Cuba’s Alberto Juantorena in Ostrava in 1976.

It was actually a slower time than his 44.39 time in Oregon, when James, the gold medalist in London last year, finished second to the United States’ LaShawn Merritt. James was followed by South Africa’s Wayde Van Niekerk and the Czech Republic’s Pavel Maslak on Thursday.

Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt had been slated to run the 100M in Ostrava but pulled out earlier this week, citing a desire to stay at home in Jamaica to train.

Asafa Powell, who had a disappointing finish in the recent Jamaican national trials, won the 100M, besting St Kitts and Nevis’ Kim Collins.

The Ostrava Golden Spike is an IAAF event.