Out of nowhere, Jamaican Sean Bailey Upsets Kirani James to win 400 meters at the 2023 LA Grand Prix!

Kirani James was second with a Season’s Best of 44.50 seconds and Quincy Hall of the United States was third with a Season’s Best of 45.09 seconds. Dominican Republic’s Lidio Andres Feliz was fourth with a Season Best of 45.37 seconds and Alonzo Russell of the Bahamas was fifth with 45.41 seconds to rule out the Caribbean placings. 

Sean Bailey seemed quite happy after the race and hopes to add to Jamaica’s legacy in Track and Field just as his sister Veronica Campbell-Brown did when she became the first Caribbean woman to win the 100 meters at the 2007 Osaka World Championships. 

Which Caribbean man do you think will be on the podium at the Budapest World Championships in August?

The men’s 400 meters seem to be heating up this season, from seeing World Record holder South Africa’s Wayde Van Niekerk (Van knee kirk) run 44.17seconds to win at the South African National Championships to seeing Commonwealth Games Champion Muzala Samukonga of Zambia running a World-leading time and Personal Best of 43.91seconds at the Botswana Golden Grand Prix. 

It can be said that the 400 meters is becoming more competitive. The goal of every elite male 400 meters runner is to run below that magical sub44 barrier. A time that less than fifty men have run in the history of Track and Field. However, that mark has been achieved by Caribbean men such as Steven Gardiner of the Bahamas, and Kirani James of Grenada, along with Jamaica’s Akeem Bloomfield and Rusheen McDonald. 

In recent times, both Steven Gardiner and Kirani James have dominated the 400 meters. Becoming both World and Olympic Champions in the event. Steven Gardiner has won 400 meters races this season, but Kirani James has been longing for his first win of this season. 

The LA Grand Prix provided the perfect opportunity for that win, as reigning World Champion Michael Norman of the United States and his countryman Champion Allison were expected to compete but they pulled out of the meet which made Kirani James the clear favorite to win the 400 meters. 

It was now time for the race, James looked quite confident and ready to take on the field. He started off extremely well, leading the race off the curve while Jamaica’s Sean Bailey was right there with him. James continued to lead the race, but Bailey was coming up on his outside. Kirani James seems to have had the race won but Sean Bailey passed him within the last 30 meters to take the win in a new Personal Best of 44.43 seconds to become the fifth-fastest Jamaican man in the event. 

The men’s 400 meters continue to be competitive, and we should see some faster times. 

We really would love to hear from you, let us know in the comment section below, Which Caribbean man do you think will be on the podium at the Budapest World Championships in August?