Desk Report
Publish: 31 Jul 2021, 11:49 pm
Elaine Thompson-Herah (Photo: Collected)
The celebrations
started even before she had crossed the line, gesturing with her left arm and
shouting in delight.
A month-and-a-half
ago, Elaine Thompson-Herah thought she wouldn't be able to compete at the Tokyo
Olympics as she struggled to overcome a nagging Achilles injury. Now, she's not
only a gold medalist, but an Olympic record holder, too.
Her time of 10.61
seconds on Saturday broke Florence Griffith Joyner's 33-year-old record set in
Seoul, spearheading a Jamaican clean sweep of the podium with Shelly-Ann
Fraser-Pryce in second and Shericka Jackson taking bronze, according to CNN.
Was Griffith
Joyner's world record of 10.49 a possibility? "Most definitely if I wasn't
celebrating," Thompson-Herah told reporters. Asked again about the world
record, she added: "I'm still working, it's a work in progress ...
Anything is possible."
The victory was the
29-year-old's third Olympic gold medal, adding to her 100m and 200m titles from
Rio five years ago.
Another Jamaican,
Usain Bolt, famously won three consecutive Olympic 100m gold medals between
2008 and 2016, and Thompson-Herah now has a chance to do the same in Paris.
"Behind this
10.6 was a lot of nerves, and I said: 'You can do this, you've been here
before, just execute,'" she told reporters.
"I have more
years. I'm just 29; I'm not 30, I'm not 40. I'm still working."
With fans barred
from attending Olympic events in Tokyo amid the pandemic, the final was held in
the near-empty surroundings of the 68,000-seat Olympic Stadium.
However, an
impressive light show ensured the minutes before the race weren't devoid of
energy or excitement.
The stadium
lighting was dimmed and the track illuminated with the names of each competitor
as they were announced to the few spectators dotted around the arena -- a
dazzling precursor befitting of an event that promised great drama after six
athletes had run under 11 seconds in the heats on Friday.
And those present
on a hot, humid evening in Tokyo weren't disappointed, as Thompson-Herah went
neck-and-neck with Fraser-Pryce at the halfway point before pulling away in the
final stages.
Defending world
champion Fraser-Pryce -- who clocked 10.74 -- now has two golds, a silver, and
a bronze in the 100m across four Olympic Games, while Jackson -- third in 10.76
-- adds to her 4x400m silver and 400m bronze from Rio.
It was a repeat of
the 2008 Olympics in Beijing when three Jamaican athletes -- Fraser-Pryce,
Sherone Simpson, and Kerron Stewart -- also topped the podium.
Asked about the
celebrations that will likely ensue back home in Jamaica, Fraser-Pryce said:
"I'm hoping they're not defying the curfew orders, but I'm sure it's going
to be remarkable to have three of our ladies stand on the podium like we did in
2008, it's incredible.
"I'm hoping
that they're celebrating with a lot of positive energy and they're celebrating
each and every one of the athletes and just continue to support us. There's a
long way to go, we have the 200m and 4x100m."
The heats for the
200m get underway on Monday with the final taking place the following day.
Thompson-Herah,
Fraser-Pryce and Jackson, who has stepped down in distance from the 400m to
sprinting events, will face stiff competition from the USA's Gabby Thomas and
the Bahamas' Shaunae Miller-Uibo.
But based on
Friday's race, another Jamaican one-two-three isn't entirely out of the
question; nor, for that matter, are more blisteringly fast times.
Outside the top
three, Ivory Coast's Marie-Josee Ta Lou finished fourth for the second consecutive
Olympics with a time of 10.91, while Great Britain's Dina Asher-Smith was a
surprise absentee from the final having failed to qualify earlier on Friday.
She later said she would be unable to compete in the 200m because of an injury.
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Topic : Elaine Thompson-Herah Tokyo Olympics
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