TOKYO, Japan — Spurred on by a semi-final run at his first major international championships last year, Jamaican 400m hurdler Malik James-King says he is eager to take things one step further at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

The championships will get under way on Saturday in the Japanese capital (Friday evening Jamaica time) and James-King, 26, despite a season of ups and downs, will be pushing to improve on his performance at the Olympic Games in Paris last year, where he managed a seventh-place finish in the semi-finals.

In Tokyo, the ambition is clear — to run faster than he has ever done before and secure his place among the best eight athletes at the championship.

“My main target is to make the final and then put myself in a position to compete for a medal. At this level, especially in an event as stacked as the 400m hurdles, nothing is guaranteed you have to respect every round. So the first step is execution, getting through the heats cleanly, staying composed in the semis, and then leaving everything on the track in the final,” James-King told the Jamaica Observer.

“I’m also targeting a personal best. I’ve been building towards this moment all season, and I believe I’m in the shape to produce something special, if everything clicks. So while the goal is obviously to stand on that podium, it’s also about delivering the kind of performance I know I’m capable of one that reflects the work my team and I have put in,” added James-King, whose personal best is 47.42 seconds.

That time was recorded at the 2024 National Championships as he booked his Olympics ticket.

This year, he has been a bit off that pace and is yet to dip below 48 seconds. It’s a marker that his coach Gregory Little believes will be met in Tokyo.

“This year Malik has had to deal with a few injuries and niggles, which set us back in the programme but at the NACAC Championships he produced a season’s best and now he is in a better position so I expect him to do very well and run sub-48 at the championship,” Little said. “Let’s see where that will put him, but hopefully he will get a spot in the final.”

That season’s best was a 48.28-seconds run, which landed him in second place and provides a good launching pad for continued improvements in Tokyo.

Little also shared that he has worked hard with the athlete to help him put the disappointments from Paris behind him, revealing that his costly stumble had been a major mental hurdle.

“Last year was a breakout year and was smooth; no issues with injuries and we saw the results,” Little said. “At the Olympics he messed up in the semi-final and almost fell and I think it played on his mind, especially at the start of this season, so we had to get in his head and tell him to move on but it really affected him and hurt him a lot.”

James-King says he is now a better athlete after the experience.

“That Olympic semi-final was tough,” he said. “No athlete wants to fall short like that on a big stage, but honestly, it was a huge learning moment for me. It reminded me of how fine the margins are at this level. I took a lot from that race technically, mentally, emotionally. I think that experience has made me more resilient and more prepared for the pressure of an event like this.

“It’s definitely been a roller coaster at times. There were moments I wasn’t satisfied with, but I also know those lows taught me a lot and pushed me to make adjustments. The key thing is peaking at the right time, and I feel like we’ve done that. Training has been sharp lately, and mentally, I’m in a good space heading into these championships.”

He will have his first chance to start righting that wrong when the heats get under way on Monday at 7:35 pm (Sunday, 5:35 am Jamaica time).

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