Kirani James Feels Good After Running World Leading 400 Meter Time

Here's an article posted on TrackAlerts.com 02/07/10. World Junior 400 Meter Champ Kirani James clcoked the years fastest Indoor 400 meter in his first race for the University of Alabama. Reigning World Youth double champion Kirani James says he feels good after clocking the fastest time in the world in the 400m indoors. Running his first race indoors for the University for Alabama, 17 year old James ran a world leading 45.79 seconds at the Meyo Invitational at the Loftus Center , Southbend, Indiana, on Saturday(6th).

Speaking on the university’s website after the race, James said: “It feels good, but this race was just to see where I’m at. It’s not for me to make any statements or anything like that. It was just to see what I need to improve on to get better.” The lanky Grenadian started studies at Alabama in January.

According to a report on the website “James blazed his way around the oval to claim the individual title with a NCAA automatic qualifying time of 45.79. The freshman was hardly pushed, as the second place finisher was almost a full second behind at 46.43.”

James’ world leading time is 0.02 seconds faster than the 45.81 set by Tabari Henry of the US Virgin Islands in Texas on 30th January. (Henry was 4th in the men’s 400 meter dash finals at the 2009 World Outdoor Championships in Berlin, Germany). James returned at the end of the day to lead off the 4×400 meter relay team which returned a time of 3 minutes 09.27 seconds to finish second in the race.

James holds the world age group records of 46.94 seconds at 14 years and 45.70 (15 year old). James also broke the 10 year old Alabama 400 meter record formerly held by Cori Loving(46.36) and was also named the SEC Track and Field Athlete of the week. more....

Why Does Usain Bolt Run The 400 Meters?

Here's an article we found on The Dong-A Ilbo (www.donga.com)In March 2004, Tokai University professor Chiaki Miyakawa, Japan’s famous short sprinter, was teaching promising Korean short-distance runners. He made a surprising move by telling them to sprint 300 meters 20 times.

Most of them could cover 200 meters at most, so 300 meters was considered a long distance and none of them finished it.


Fast forward to Feb. 22 last year. Usain Bolt, the world record holder in the 100 and 200 meters and three-time Beijing Olympics gold medalist, won the 400 meters with a time of 45.54 seconds in Kingston, Jamaica. Bolt said he trains for the event to prepare for races.


The wunderkind will compete in the 400 meters again at Jamaica’s National Stadium in Kingston Feb. 14. The event is not one of his specialties, but it will be his first race since the IAAF World Athletic Final in September last year.


His personal best in the 400 meters of 45.28 set in 2007 is far short of the world record of 43.18, but Bolt says he wants to compete in the event as a means of training for the 100 and 200 meters.


Seong Bong-ju, a specialist in exercise physiology at Korea Institute of Sports Science, said, “Training methods include the principle of overload. If you can sprint 300 and 400 meters, you can run 100 and 200 meters easier.”


Professor Miyakawa said, “If you want to cover 200 meters, you can set a record only when you can sprint more than 300 meters.”


This is understandable in the case of Bolt, who set a world record of 19.19 at the 200-meter final of the IAAF World Championships in Athletics in Berlin last year.


He celebrated his win by running dozens of meters after passing the finish line while other competitors were exhausted.


Bolt seemed as if he could have sprinted another 200 meter. He also holds the world record of 9.58 in the 100 meters, earning the title of the fastest man on the planet.


Eight-time world champion Michael Johnson of the U.S. also showed that training in the 400 meters is necessary for short sprints. With his strongest event being the 400 meters, he shocked the world by setting a then world record of 19.32 at the 200 meters in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.


Bolt broke that record in the 2008 Beijing Olympics Games with 19.30. As such, training for longer distances is important to short sprinters.


Another reason for Bolt’s development is training on grass. The tracks of the High Performance Training Center of Jamaica’s University of Technology, where the island country’s athletes practice, are made of grass. Bolt trains on the grass track then moves to the track for athletes.


Seo Mal-gu, a former coach who traveled to Jamaica to help train the Korean short-distance sprinter team, said, “Since grass is uneven on the surface, it helps the development of small muscles in feet and legs. Grass is also soft on the surface, making it harder to train on and more effective for training.”

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Interview With 400 Meter World Leader Tabarie Henry

Tabarie Henry fastest time in world 45.81 2010 Texas A&M Challenge | 2010 Texas A&M Challenge: Big 12 / SEC / PAC 10 Showdown on Flotrack

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Tabarie Henry of Texas A&M Runs 45.81 400 Meters To Take Indoor World Lead

M 400 H01 (45.81 Henry, Texas A&M Challenge) 400 | 2010 Texas A&M Challenge: Big 12 / SEC / PAC 10 Showdown on Flotrack

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Usain Bolt To Open Season with 400 Meter Dash on Feb. 13th

According to a report on TrackAlert.com, Usain Bolt will open his 2010 season at the Camperdown Classic on February 13th. As usual, Bolt will run in the men's 400 meters. Cynthia Cooke, chairperson of the organizing committee confirmed Bolt's participation. more....