AUDLEY BOYD, ASSISTANT Sports Editor

EUGENE, Oregon:

GRENADA's Kirani James knows his opponents are hungry, but he is not intimidated. "I know that they're hungry and they want to have great performances, so you can't take the field for granted at any race or any point during the season," he reasoned following Saturday's Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon.

"You always have to be ready because I know they're going to be ready."

Part of staying ahead of the pack in the longest sprint is optimising the chances, which for him comes from learning the race - a value that is generally acquired well beyond his years.

"There are 400 guys that have had success while they're old," he observed. "I think as you get older you understand the race a bit more. If you look at Michael (Johnson), he broke the world record in his 30s, so this shows that he didn't really fully understand the race until he was in his late 20s going into 30."

James won the 2011 Worlds and Olympic gold in London the following year and has set his sights on recapturing the World Championships title won by Merritt at Russia's 2013 Worlds.

"The World Championships is always at the centre of my plans. So the main focus is to have a season that could lead up to success at the World Championships," James said.

"I feel good; I'm healthy. I haven't had any complications of any sort, so it should be a good competition, and I'm expecting great competition from all the guys."