James Gilkes
James Wren Gilkes ( born September 21, 1952) is a Guyanese track and field athlete, who won the 200 - meter race at the Pan American Games in 1975.
Gilkes was a student of Fisk University in Nashville in 1974 and came in the top class American athletes. In 1975 he moved to the University of Southern California. At the Pan American Games in Mexico City, he won the 200 meters in 20.43 seconds with 0.26 seconds ahead of the Americans Larry Brown. At the Olympic Games in 1976 Gilkes would have been a candidate for the finals on its position in the world rankings in the 100 meters and 200 meters, but was not allowed to start because Guyana joined the Olympic boycott of the African states.
In the Commonwealth Games 1978 in Edmonton Gilkes took over 100 meters in fourth place behind the Olympic champions Don Quarrie, Allan Wells and Hasely Crawford, about 200 meters, he won silver behind Wells; In both races, the times were not able to record due to strong wind assistance. On September 12, 1978 Gilkes presented at regular wind conditions with 10.19 seconds and 20.14 seconds personal best on that could not be beaten as a Guyanese national records over 30 years.
1979 occupied Gilkes at the Pan American Games, with nine hundredths of a second behind the Cuban Silvio Leonard second place, the times were not ripe for best list to strong wind assistance. 1980 Gilkes approached at the Olympic Games in Moscow, but missed on both short sprints just the final.
At a height of 1.88 meters, his competition weight was 72 kilograms.