Grenada’s Kirani James became the first athlete with three medals in the Olympic 400-meter dash when he took the bronze medal in the men’s competition on Thursday in Tokyo.
James won Grenada’s first Olympic medal when he captured the gold in the 400 meters at the 2012 London Games. He earned a silver medal in the 400 at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games.
At the Tokyo Games, James briefly held the lead as the runners hit the home stretch in the 400, but Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas surged for a relatively comfortable victory in 43.85 seconds, and Colombia’s Anthony Jose Zambrano came on to take second in 44.08. James’ third-place time was 44.19.
“Considering what I’ve been through the past three years,” James said, “my illness, in 2019 I lost my mum, so I spent a lot of time at home not training; so by the time I got to World Championships, I was not in peak shape. COVID last year and this year.
James, who is 28 years old, won his Olympic gold medal with a time of 43.94 and his silver at 43.76. In the latter race, South Africa’s Wayde van Niekerk broke the world record while winning the gold medal.
