James warms-up for Olympics with easy win in Hungary
BUDAPEST, Hungary (CMC) — Grenada’s Kirani James remains unbeaten this season after cruising to an easy win in the 400 metres at the Gyulai Istvan Memorial track meet in Hungary on Monday.
James, who is preparing to defend his title at the summer Olympics in Brazil next month, won comfortably in 44.62 seconds.
The Grenadian quarter-miler finished ahead of Tony McQuay of the United States, who clocked 45.08, while Steven Gardiner of The Bahamas finished third in 45.28.
Also in winning form was Jamaica’s Veronica Campbell Brown (VCB), who is approaching her fifth Olympic appearance.
VCB, a two-time Olympic champion, won the 200 metres in 22.52 seconds ahead of the US pair of Shalonda Solomon and Tiffany Townsend, who both finished in a time of 22.63.
Meanwhile, Jamaica’s Asafa Powell had to settle for second place after he was eclipsed by South Africa’s Akani Simbini in the 100-metre sprint.
Powell clocked 9.92 seconds to dip below 10 seconds for the 94th time in his career, while Akani set a new national record with his time of 9.89.
Mike Rodgers of the United States was third in 10.12, just ahead of 40-year-old St Kitts and Nevis speedster Kim Collins.
