On Aug. 6, 2012, Kirani James earned Grenada’s first Olympic medal by winning the men’s 400-meter dash at the London Games in 43.94 seconds. On Aug. 6, 2024, the former Alabama sprinter had the fastest time in the semifinal races for the 400 meters at the Paris Olympics at 43.78 seconds.

At Stade de France in Saint-Denis, France, James advanced to Wednesday’s medal race in the 400-meter dash, which includes three former Crimson Tide athletes, with Jereem Richards of Trinidad and Tobago and Samuel Ogazi of Nigeria joining James.

Before James won the second semifinal on Tuesday, Richards ran 44.33 to finish second to the United States’ Quincy Hall, who won the first semifinal in 43.95 seconds.

After James won the second semifinal, Ogazi finished third in the third semifinal with a personal-best time of 44.41 seconds.

The top two finishers in each semifinal and the two fastest runners not in those positions earned spots in the medal race. Ogazi and the United States’ Christopher Bailey earned the two time spots in the final. Bailey finished third in the second semifinal at 44.31.

When qualifying for the 400 meters started on Sunday, James won Heat 5 in 44.78 seconds, Richards finished second in Heat 2 in 44.31 and Ogazi finished second in Heat 4 in 44.50. The top three finishers in each of the six heat races advanced to the semifinals.

James has a complete collection of Olympic medals in the event. After the gold in London, he won silver in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 and bronze in Tokyo in 2021.

Spain Park High School assistant coach Curtis Thompson represented the United States in the javelin throw on Tuesday at the Paris Olympics. His best throw in three tries went 76.79 meters – just about 252 feet – but that was not far enough to move ahead in the competition with the 12 finalists.

At the Aquatics Center, former Alabama diver Mohamed Farouk of Egypt totaled 317.40 points on six dives to place 23rd among the 25 competitors in the preliminary round of the men’s 3-meter springboard competition. The top 18 advanced to the semifinals. Farouk held the 18th spot after his first dive but had slipped to 24th after his third.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.