AP
Olympic champion Kirani James broke Michael Johnson‘s Drake Relays 400m record on Friday night, beating rival World champion LaShawn Merritt handily in their first head-to-head race this season.
James, of Grenada, clocked 44.22 seconds in Des Moines, Iowa, topping Johnson’s mark of 44.41 from 1996. Only two men — Johnson and 2004 Olympic champion Jeremy Wariner — have ever run faster this early in a year, according to the IAAF.
“This shows that I am in good shape,” James said, according to the IAAF. “Good things can happen this season, but nothing is guaranteed.