Kirani James wins Olympic 400 title; Aggie Demetrius Pinder 7th

By: Associated Press

Posted: Mon 4:31 PM, Aug 06, 2012

LONDON (AP) - Kirani James claimed Grenada's first medal in Olympic history Monday night, leaving the field behind in a drizzle to win the 400-meter gold by more than a half-second.

The 19-year-old James, the reigning world champion and a two-time NCAA champion for the University of Alabama, finished in 43.94 seconds.

Luguelin Santos of the Dominican Republic earned the silver in 44.46, giving that country its second medal of the London Games shortly after Felix Sanchez won the 400-meter hurdles.

Lalonde Gordon of Trinidad and Tobago got the 400 bronze.

The U.S. had won the past seven Olympic titles in the men's 400, dating to 1984, but none of the three American entrants qualified for Monday's final. That included 2008 champion LaShawn Merritt, who pulled up with an injury in his opening heat.

Ten Aggies Receive Preseason All-SEC Mention from Athlon Sports

We ask that the following Community Standards be followed:

Comments must not be profane or vulgar.

Comments must not use hate speech, racial slurs, or violent descriptions.

We encourage varying views to be shared. We do ask commenters to not personally attack other readers, groups, people featured in our stories, or other posters for disagreeing with their views.

Comments must not contain negative, comparative debates between community standards of cities or towns.

Comments must contribute to the discussion, flaming and/or trolling will not be tolerated.

Comments must be truthful and not intentionally falsified. Providing a source link is encouraged.

If you find that a comment violates the above rules, please use the flagging option located to the right of the comment to notify the moderators.
For a complete list of guidelines, please follow this link:
http://www.kbtx.com/home/misc/Online-Commenting-Policy-181579421.html