Kirani James breaks Drake's 400 m record

Kirani James let the rest of the world know that he's still the man to beat in the 400 meters

Des Moines (Iowa): Kirani James let the rest of the world know that he's still the man to beat in the 400 meters.

Kirani James and Merritt

The defending Olympic champion broke the Drake Relays record with a world-leading time of 44.08 seconds on Friday.

James beat American LaShawn Merritt by 0.14 seconds and shaved over a quarter of a second off the time he posted at a race in the Bahamas two weeks ago.

The performance only solidified James' status as the favorite in the 400 for the Rio Olympics this August. His time nearly matched the 43.94 he ran to win in London — and he still has three months to prepare for Brazil.

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