Chasing Seconds and Olympic Dreams on the Track

Here is a bonus trailer of Nutmeg Nation, with special Guest Kirani James.

Kirani James made history when he won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in London 2012.  James won silver in 2016 in Rio, and Bronze at the Tokyo Games.

His coach Harvey Glance, three-time Olympian and 1976 Olympic gold medal winner, Glance was a four-time NCAA champion at Auburn from 1976-79.  Harvey is known for being the greatest sprinter in track and field at Auburn University.

CORRECTION the Museum in Grenada is called the Underwater Sculpture Museum, not the UNDERGROUND Museum.

If you would like to know more about Kirani James please check out  https://www.kiranijames.com/
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Chapters

• 0:00 Before and After the Starting Gun
• 3:43 Early International Athletics Success and Potential
• 9:32 Consistent Progression and Support in Athletics

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

When you're on the track and you're ready to run and the gun goes off. What do you think of?

Speaker 2: 0:07

What do I think of?

Speaker 1: 0:10

Yeah, what is it? What is like the gun goes off and then you just go. But do you have a vision? Like it's very nerve-wracking, like for us, who's watching you on the world stage? You know what I mean. And when that gun goes off, it's like I'm an athlete myself and I ran the 200 and the 100 in school. When that gun goes off, it's like, you know, do your diet at that point? So you know.

Speaker 2: 0:33

Yeah, I mean, it's similar, it never changes. But I think for me, you just want to focus on your race, focus on what you're supposed to do, especially in that moment.

Speaker 1: 0:42

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 0:42

Is you want to, whatever strategy or whatever focus or whatever plan that you have. I think you want to focus on that and execute into the best of your ability. Now, where it gets interesting is like throughout the lead up, throughout the games or the meets, and all that you always want to go, for me, is always about focusing on just trying to represent, you know, everyone that's affiliated with me, whether it's stakeholders, whether it's family, whether it's community all that you want to go out and do your best and try to make them proud. So, yeah, leading up to it, yeah, obviously you want you thinking about those things right as to okay, how am I going to perform? How are people you know following the races? Are people knowing you know what channel it is, what time it is, to make sure that everyone can tune in and do all those things?

Speaker 2: 1:38

So, yeah, leading up is always a little bit more, I would say, not nerve wrecking, but is a bit more surreal when you kind of look at everything that all that's there in stake and how much you want to represent and to kind of make everyone proud, especially in that aspect, in that small aspect as well not a small aspect, but an aspect in sport where you have something where people could galvanize and people could come together and so forth. So sometimes, yeah, it feels like a little bit of a responsibility to go out and always kind of perform at a certain level, because you know the expectation is always there. So, yeah, going into those meetings is a lot more interesting in terms of, you know, navigating those, all those emotions and all that. So yeah, but the real time is focus on the plan, you know, and just try to execute that in that moment for that 45 or whatever seconds.

Speaker 1: 2:45

Yeah, it's interesting because you know you train for four years for that one moment in time and it's like anything can happen on the day of it could be the wind is a little too strong, it could, you know. You have so many people fall, starts and all that. But going back from the beginning, you were 14 when you won your first race, so how did that feel? Did you even realize that you know this is something that you could do professionally?

Speaker 2: 3:20

Yeah, I remember I was in. There was a game called the CUT Games Caribbean Union of Teachers Games. I think that was that year. It was in St Lucia, I think, and that was my first time actually leaving the country on a plane, on a Liat Dash, all of that. That flight fell like 10 hours, you know, even though it was just right in St Lucia. So that was my first time of going out and competing internationally and I think I was about 13 at the time and just having that experience, you know, especially when you look, you see on TV, you see Jamaicans, you see Trinidad, folks from Trinidad and Tobago, barbados, bahamas, you see them all on TV and they were like, okay, well, you know, hopefully, especially at that level, maybe somebody could get, somebody could get there right.

Speaker 1: 4:17

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 4:17

And you know, just looking at it going out there and competing. I think it was a games where it's almost like you're doing all the events.

Speaker 2: 4:25

I remember the I was doing the 400, the 200, I think I won the 400. I got second in the 200, the Jamaican beat me in the 200. And I guess I won the 400. So I was competing against, like you said, all those guys from Jamaica, trinidad, bahamas, barbados, all the other Caribbean countries. And I think it was from that moment where it was like okay, like like I'm at that level in terms of just natural ability, like we're all at that level. So now it's about just kind of focusing and just using that as a platform and a springboard to to prepare me to try to do well.

Speaker 2: 5:02

So from there, you know, I think I was, I think in 2006, my first year in my hometown club called Speed Soul. That was my club club in Guar. The coach at that time was a coach about Joseph and he coached me throughout my whole, my whole youth, youth career. And from there, from coming out of that games, I was like OK, let me start trade. Taking athletics very seriously. You know, I'm not going to play too much football anymore, I'm not going to play too much cricket, no, not too much basketball.

Speaker 2: 5:37

I'm just going to focus and zone in on this one, on this one sport, and I think that's that's when he kind of hit me and kind of like, I said, you know, open my eyes, not just to win, whether it's to the Olympics or anything, but how many opportunities he could open, like coming up to the US, getting scholarships and all of that. So it was, it was I would say that was the first time I had, you know, where I felt like, ok, this could be, this could be something, something great. And then we mentioned 2007 at World Youth. I think I was 14 at the time and I was running against, you know, athletes that were 16, 17, right.

Speaker 1: 6:19

So yeah, you're 14, you said. You said were you 13 or 14?

Speaker 2: 6:23

I was 14 in 2007.

Speaker 1: 6:25

Oh my goodness, wow I was 14, going on 15. Yeah.

Speaker 2: 6:30

I think that was in Australia, Czech Republic, where we had the world.

Speaker 1: 6:33

Wow, Czech Republic. Oh my goodness.

Speaker 2: 6:36

So yeah, so I was competing against all those guys that maybe, as I was young, maybe it's just some naivety in it, but I was like I don't know how all this is going to play out. I don't have to think too much, just run. And yeah, and I had good performances. I got a silver medal in that world youth game, that 14. So, like I said, all of that was just more evidence of you know, this could be something that could be really good at. Yeah, and from there at home you have character games, you have CBS First Sports, you have Intercal. Intercal is always a big deal in Grenada.

Speaker 1: 7:11

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 7:12

So, like I said, you just kind of go from strength to strength with there. But, you know, it was a lot of factors that came into play, a lot of people that were in my life at certain points that really helped me, whether it's just advice, whether it's just, you know, like I say, with my club, all of that stuff. So there's a lot of, you know, people that are influential in terms of making me reach where I'm at today. So, yeah, it's a wonderful experience and, looking back, I can only be grateful and humble that I've had all of that in my life.

Speaker 1: 7:46

Yeah, no, it's amazing to watch you and you know, for me, I've been watching the Olympics since I was a child and I've always loved track. It's one of the most popular events at the Olympics. When we talk about the summer games, you hear the announcers. There's like we know you were waiting for the track event. Like you know, this is it. It's because we're looking at the times. Who's gonna beat the times?

Speaker 1: 8:14

Like even for you this year, I believe, from what I heard, I don't know if it's true that Usain Bolt is gonna be in Paris watching the games. You know, like he's been competing and this is the first time he's actually gonna be a spectator, so I'm pretty sure a lot of people are gonna be watching. It's the world, right. But going back to what you were saying about, you know the people who were part of your journey to where you are now and not realizing it, because when you're young, you're like I can't believe this is happening. When did you realize? I think it was. Was it before you made it to London that you realized that you know that there's some potential for you to make an impact or even compete at the international level? You know what I mean. Like against the world, you know, at the world stage.

Speaker 2: 9:07

Yeah, like I said, that was always. Like I said since 2006, 2007,. There was always a potential.

Speaker 1: 9:14

Right.

Speaker 2: 9:14

You know potential, because you never know what's gonna happen.

Speaker 1: 9:17

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 9:18

But you nurture that talent, it's always gonna dictate how far that talent goes. So even then there were even conversations about, you know, the Olympics or World Championships and all that. So it was always, I wouldn't say expectation, but it always. You know the potential of all that and if you remember, like I've always, you know, in 2008, you know, I was in World Junior. I got a silver medal there too. In 2009, I was in World Youth the second time in 2017, and I won the 400, won the 200 there.

Speaker 2: 9:55

2010, world Junior I won the 400 there. So there was always like a very, I would say prolific progression with me when it comes to, you know, going from the youth level going up to the senior level and 2011,. You know, when I went to World Championships, you know, and I won that, and then the Olympics was following the following year. Obviously, there's even more expectation. So, like I said, it's always been there, you know, even when I was in World Junior it's in 2008,. I remember I was competing against guys that were already in college.

Speaker 1: 10:33

Wow, that's so amazing.

Speaker 2: 10:36

Yeah, so when I went there in like 2010, and I went to University of Alabama, like I was seeing some of the same guys, oh, my goodness Against you in 2008.

Speaker 2: 10:47

So I said it's always been there. Like I said, I'm just grateful that I've had a lot of people you know in my life to help me. Like I said, my club coach in Renata and I was with my college coach and professional coach, harvey Glantz, you know, and then just so much people in my community that helped me and even, like I said then, the expectation and the support was always there. So, yeah, it wasn't just you know, like you know, you just aiming for one year in 2012 or whatnot. There was always a nice progression, going from level to university, right Then.