Latest update May 25th, 2026 12:35 AM
James gunning for new 400m PB at U-23 games or IGG
– athlete currently in US training
By Juanita Hooper
This athlete can say he crept from the bottom of the ladder, elevating himself from the last rung to the first, to be the best local 400 meters junior athlete and the second senior athlete behind Guyana’s local Olympian Winston George.
He is Guyana’s present junior 400 meters record holder in the outdoor segment. The record which was once held by Tai Payne was broken by Stephan James at the 14th IAAF World Junior Championship in Barcelona, Spain.
Stephan James during one of his training sessions in the United States on a synthetic track.
The record, which now stands at 46.99 seconds, saw James, President’s/Jefford Classic II 200 meters gold medalist winning his heat which allowed him to qualify for semi-finals at the Games to achieve a new personal best (PB) time.
The Charlestown Secondary School student speaking with Kaieteur Sport disclosed that he has been training in the United States of America after the conclusion of the IAAF World Junior Championship to develop himself for his upcoming games. James is currently under the watchful eyes of US-based Kadecia Baird coach, Shaun Dietz.
Local coach of the athlete, Julian Edmonds, who disclosed that James’ performance came at the right time in his career, can say that his prayers for James are surely fulfilling.
Edmonds firmly stated that his aim was to get James out of Guyana since the country does not have the facilities presently for track and field athletes, “I am hoping to get Stephan out of Guyana at least by this year end. Guyana does not have any facility of the sort to encourage and move upcoming athletes to the next level in sports.”
Lamenting on the situation, Edmonds revealed that James, has achieved most of his goals under the worst condition, “Running a 400 in the National Park for our club is like running 200 meters back to back to complete the 400 meters,” the coach disclosed.
The present junior record holder is of the view that he could have done better at the Barcelona Games but was unable to get the best of his sturdy legs after experiencing unusual cramps before the 400 meters semi-finals, “I think I could have done better in my race but while warming up I was experiencing unusual cramps in my feet.”
He added that his Coach (Dietz) explained why he was experiencing the cramps, “He said that my body was not used to the synthetic track.”
James however accomplished one of his short term goals (break the junior record) which he sketched out for the athletic season, “I feel happy that I achieved my shot term goal,” he said.
He confidently stated that his short term goal will be to break his record before the year ends at either the South American Under-23 Championship in September (Brazil, Sao Paulo) or in the Inter-Guiana Games (IGG) which is slated for French Guiana.
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