Hush! - Green recalls quieting the Puerto Rican crowd when he beat Culson at the CAC Games

World Athletics may have listed Leford Green's biggest honours in his lengthy track and field career as his appearance in the final of the 400m hurdles at the London Olympics in 2012 and his World Championships relay bronze medal performance the previous year.

But, for the four-time Jamaican national champion, the highlight of his career came in 2010 when he defeated Puerto Rican Javier Culson, the best 400m hurdler in the world at the time, at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.

Green, a junior at Johnson C Smith University, was in his first year of running the 400m hurdles and was eager to test his skills with the big boys.

CONFIDENCE

"I had great collegiate season where I won at the event (400m hurdles) at the NCAA Division II championships running 48.6, and I was pretty confident even though I was going up against Culson in his backyard," Green recalled.

Culson's presence wasn't the only factor Green had to deal with as the race was riddled with World and Olympic medallists.

Felix Sanchez, the two-time Olympic champion from the Dominican Republic, was drawn in lane three while Trinidad and Tobago, who finished fourth in the event the previous year at the World Championships in Berlin and went on to become world champion in 2013, was positioned in an outer lane.

Culson finished in front of Gordon in Berlin to win the silver medal and his home fans were pulsating to see him win gold in front of them.

"The pre-race introduction was scary because they put him on the screen and his mother on the screen, but I remember competing at Champs when we hear the crowd we just get into a vibes and run even if they are not cheering for you," Green said.

Culson, in his signature race style, covered the first half of the race quicker than everyone else, but with thunderous roars of 'Javier, Javier' echoing down the Puerto Rican night, Green shifted into another gear to move past the hometown favourite and claim his first senior title for Jamaica in 48.47 seconds.

"When I cross the light you could hear a pin drop, everyone in the stadium was shocked," Green recalled. "That race showed me that I could take on the world and made a lot of people aware of me."

The 33-year-old returned to Puerto Rico a year later for rematch with Culson and was victorious again.