LIKE an act of providence, every once in a while a talented individual emerges with the capacity and deportment to take a sport to a higher level.

The brilliance of such individuals tends to transcend national boundaries and relegate patriotism to the equivalent of a domestic squabble in the interest of global rivalry.

Basketball superstar Michael Jordan was one such entity; boxing legend Mohammed Ali another. In the sport of athletics — certainly, in this generation — there is the irrepressible Usain Bolt. However, not far behind is a prodigious 18-year-old talent from Grenada who, interestingly, is called ‘the young Usain Bolt’. With this, I introduce Kirani James.

A multiple Carifta Games winner, World Youth, World Junior and repeat NCAA champion (over 400 metres for the University of Alabama in only his second year at college), James boasts impeccable credentials while still a junior athlete and could emerge a star at the IAAF World Athletic Championships in Daegu, South Korea, while handing his country a medal of any colour at this global meet.

James’ chances have, of course, been boosted by the withdrawal through injury of former world and Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner of the United States, and the long lay-off and — one presumes — subsequent ‘ring rust’ of current world and Olympic champion LaShawn Merritt who is making a return after serving a two-year doping ban.

Nevertheless, Merritt ran an impressive 44.74 seconds in Stockholm in his comeback race in July and with youth still on his side at age 25, and a wealth of international experience at his disposal, obviously remains the man to beat.

In combining all the important dynamics, however, the men’s quarter-mile could be a wide open affair, with Jamaican Jermaine Gonzales, Chris Brown of the Bahamas and the American trio of Tony McQuay, Greg Nixon and Jamaal Torrance to also figure prominently in the final outcome.

Despite his long list of achievements as a junior, however, the manner in which James disposed of a creditable field of much older rivals, including Gonzales, at the Aviva Grand Prix at Crystal Palace two weeks ago while posting an exhilarating victory and a world-leading 44.61 seconds on his professional debut is what really raised eyebrows and makes the young Grenadian a potential threat in Daegu.

A shrewd and deceptive athlete who has more than an inkling of his true capabilities, James exuded a confidence in London that only emanates from an individual who is used to winning and one who knows deep within that somehow he is destined for greatness.

Considering that the exciting youngster is also a more than capable 200m runner and is in fact the defending World Junior champion in the event with a personal best 20.41 as well, he evidently has the natural speed which may be required to win any homestretch duel, enhanced by the archetypical tall, slim, quarter-mile structure with which he has been blessed.

Having devotedly followed his career from his exploits as a 14- and 15-year-old who notched silver medals at the 2007 World Youth and 2008 World Juniors, I have detected a few significant attributes that serve to empower Kirani James as an individual and as an athlete, yet are foreboding signs for prospective rivals.

First, despite winning almost all of his races at the big meets, he rarely seems satisfied with his performance. This was particularly manifested in his reaction after copping the 400m at last year’s World Juniors in a ‘pedestrian’ 45.89 seconds — below his then personal best of the low 45s.

Again, James is a gentleman and a true sportsman who seems to know the importance of observing the unwritten but expected protocol of greeting and consoling his rivals at the end of a race — which he usually wins. This is a demonstration of maturity beyond his years, a symbol of sportsmanship so flagrantly lacking in many an athlete these days, and a wonderful sign of humility.

From a Jamaican standpoint, with the historical legacy of our athletes already assured, we should revel in any surprises served up by James. After all, he is a classic example of Caribbean talent that will not only enhance our reputation as a region, but also augment the opportunities that abound for youngsters hoping to be recruited by overseas universities.

In this vein, and as has been previously articulated here, Jamaican athletes could in the foreseeable future be jostling with a host of regional athletes for global supremacy, especially with James and others like Trinidadians Kelly-Ann Baptiste and Jehue Gordon — who was fourth in the 400m hurdles in Berlin — being serious contenders at this level.

Interestingly, youth should not be a debilitating factor for James ahead of Daegu — and London, for that matter. For, as the records show, a number of 400m global champions over the past three decades have been very young. Steve Lewis won the 1988 Olympic title at age 19; Wariner the 2004 edition at age 20 at Athens, and Quincy Watts (1992 Barcelona) and Lee Evans (1968 Mexico) at age 21.

The 2011 World Championships is therefore an excellent opportunity for James to make his senior international debut over one lap. And even if he fails to shine in Daegu, by the time he attains the ripe old age of 19, I am pretty sure that London 2012 will be frantically beckoning. From where I stand, another superstar is on the horizon.