TOKYO OLYMPICS: Jamaican Elaine Thompson-Herah broke the Olympic record while Jamaica takes Gold, Silver and Bronze in the 100m race at the Tokyo Olympics games.
Thompson-Herah confirmed her status as the 100m queen winning her second consecutive gold medal in the blue-riband event setting a new Olympic record; Jamaica also claimed their second clean sweep of the podium since Beijing 2008, according to the Olympic Committee
The Jamaican sprint queen did it in style, beating a quality field – including two-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce – racing to victory in an Olympic record time of 10.61 seconds.
Fraser-Pryce had to be content with the silver medal clocking 10.74, becoming the most decorated female 100m athlete at the Olympic Games, adding to the three from Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016. Shericka Jackson rounded off the podium finishing third with 10.76 for the Jamaican sweep.
The Jamaican women confirmed their status as sprinting powerhouses with their second sweep of the podium since the first time they did it at Beijing 2008.
Jamaica’s Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, has praised all three Jamaican women sprinters, for sweeping the medals in the 100 metres race touting it is one of the nation’s greatest achievements in history.
“My tears flow for a grateful nation. Jamaica leads the world in female sprint. I want to congratulate Elaine Thompson-Herah on successfully defending her Olympic title. She has made our small nation extremely proud once again, winning gold in a new Olympic Record of 10.61 and becoming the second fastest woman of all time. I am overwhelmed,” Minister Grange stated.
Olympic Record
The night belonged to Thompson-Herah, who produced the fireworks, and then some, managing to reel in Fraser-Pryce after a blistering start. The world’s two fastest women were neck-and-neck halfway through the race, with Thompson-Herah’s top-end speed proving too much for her compatriot.
Thompson-Herah underscored her class breaking late American icon Florence Griffith Joyner’s 33-year-old Olympic record of 10.62 that she set in Seoul 1988.
The time also launched her into second place on the world all-time list behind Griffith Joyner.
The 29-year-old Thompson-Herah, who has not stepped onto a podium at a major championship since Rio 2016, produced the goods when it mattered against a stacked field. The stage was set for a fast race with four of the women on the starting line clocking sub-10.80 seconds times in the semi-finals.
Thompson-Herah celebrated before crossing the line, pointing with her left arm, which sparked questions over whether she could have gone faster.
“I didn’t see the time, but the pointing was just, I knew I had won, so I don’t know what it means other than to show I was clear (of the field),” Thompson-Herah said.
“I could have gone faster if I wasn’t pointing and celebrating early. But that shows there is more in store, so hopefully, one day, I can unleash that time,”
“I believe in myself but I didn’t expect to run this fast, even though I felt great during the rounds. There was a lot of nerves but I said to myself, ‘you can do this, you’ve been here before, just execute it.”
Contribution: Olympics
