Elaine Thompson-Herah

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Elaine Thompson-Herah
Elaine Thompson Herah at the 2019 Pan American Games.jpg
Thompson-Herah at the 2019 Pan American Games
Personal information
Born (1992-06-28) June 28, 1992 (age 29)
Manchester, Jamaica
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight56 kg (123 lb)
Sport
SportTrack and Field
Event(s)60m, 100m, 200m
College teamUTech
ClubMVP Track Club
Coached byStephen Francis
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • 60m: 6.98i (Birmingham 2017)
  • 100m: 10.54 NR (Eugene 2021)
  • 200m: 21.53 NR (Tokyo 2021)
hide
Medal record
Women's athletics
Representing  Jamaica
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 100 m
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 200 m
Gold medal – first place 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2015 Beijing 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2015 Beijing 200 m
World Indoor Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Portland 60 m
World Athletics Relays
Gold medal – first place 2017 Nassau 4×200 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Yokohama 4×200 m relay
Diamond League
Winner 2016 100 m
Winner 2017 100 m
Winner 2021 100 m
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima 100 m
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Glasgow 4×100 m relay
Silver medal – second place 2018 Gold Coast 4×100 m relay
CAC Championships
Gold medal – first place 2013 Morelia 4×100 m relay

Elaine Thompson-Herah (née Thompson; born 28 June 1992) is a Jamaican sprinter who competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres. A five-time Olympic champion, she is the fastest woman alive, and the second-fastest in history, over both distances.

Thompson-Herah rose to prominence at the 2015 World Athletics Championships, winning silver in the 200 m. She is the first woman in history, and the second sprinter after compatriot Usain Bolt, to win the 'sprint double' at consecutive Olympics, capturing gold in both the 100 m and 200 m at the 2016 Rio Olympics and again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

After her Olympic wins in 2016, she was plagued by injury, which affected her performances at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships. However, she returned to the top of athletics at the Tokyo Games, retaining her 100 m title in a new Olympic record of 10.61 s. She also defended her 200 m title in a new personal best of 21.53 s. In her first post-Olympic race, she lowered her 100 m personal best to 10.54 s.

One of the most dominant sprinters in the world, Thompson-Herah holds four of the top 10 times ever run in the 100 m. She is the 2019 Pan American Games 100 m champion and is a three-time Diamond League winner.

Early life[]

Thompson is a native of Banana Ground in Manchester Parish, Jamaica.[1] Running for Christiana High School and later Manchester High School, Thompson was a good but not outstanding scholastic sprinter; her best result at the Jamaican ISSA Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships came in 2009, when she placed fourth in the Class Two 100 metres in 12.01 seconds.[2] In 2011, her final year at Manchester High, she was left off the track team for disciplinary reasons.[1][2]

Athletics career[]

After high school, she was recruited to the University of Technology, Jamaica by Paul Francis, brother of MVP Track Club head coach Stephen Francis. With MVP coaching, Thompson's times started improving steadily.[2][3]

In 2013, she clocked a seasonal best of 11.41s at the Gibson Replays and placed second behind Carrie Russell at the Jamaican Intercollegiate Championships. At the Central American and Caribbean Championships in Morelia, she won gold in the 4 × 100 metres relay, running the first leg on the Jamaican team as it won in 43.58s.[1][4][5]

In 2014, Thompson won her first intercollegiate title, placed fifth in 11.26s at the national championships, and had a seasonal best of 11.17s.[2][4] She represented Jamaica at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, running in the heats; Jamaica won their heat in 42.44s, and went on to win gold in the final with Thompson-Herah not in the line-up.[4][6]

2015[]

Thompson made her international breakthrough in 2015.[7] She repeated as Jamaican intercollegiate champion in March and broke 11 seconds for the first time at the UTech Classic on 11 April, running a world-leading 10.92 seconds.[2][8] She then ran 10.97 seconds at the Jamaica International Invitational in Kingston, defeating a field that included Blessing Okagbare and Allyson Felix.[7] At the Pre Classic in Eugene, Thompson was narrowly beaten by English Gardner in the B-race as both were timed in 10.84 seconds; as of 27 July 2015, this was Thompson's personal best in the 100m and ranked her 30th on the world all-time list.[4][9][10]

Thompson-Herah was expected to run the 100 metres at the Jamaican National Championships, which doubled as trials for the 2015 World Championships in Beijing; however, her coach Stephen Francis pulled her from that event and instead had her concentrate on the 200 metres, in which she had set a personal best of 22.37s in May.[7][11] The move generated controversy in Jamaica; Francis stated that Thompson-Herah was not ready to double and that she had been prepared for the 200m in which her main weakness, the start, would not play as large a role.[12][13] Thompson won the national 200m title in 22.51s, qualifying for the World Championships.[14]

At the London Grand Prix on 25 July, Thompson-Herah won a non-scoring Diamond League 200m race in 22.10s, defeating Americans Tori Bowie and Candyce McGrone; the time was her new personal best and broke Merlene Ottey's meeting record from 1991.[15][16][17]

At the Beijing World Championships, Thompson-Herah won a silver medal, behind Dafne Schippers of Netherlands. Thompson's time of 21.66s was faster than the previous championships record but 0.03s slower than Schippers. Fellow Jamaican Veronica Campbell Brown was third in 21.97s.[citation needed]

Thompson-Herah at the 2016 Rio Olympics

2016[]

On 1 July, Thompson-Herah set a personal best in the 100m with a time of 10.70s, winning the event at the Jamaican Championships. She did not advance to the semi-finals in the 200m running only a 23.34s.

In the 100m final of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Thompson-Herah won the gold medal with a time of 10.71s, ahead of Tori Bowie (10.83s), and the 2012 London Olympics winner and countrywoman Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (10.86s).[citation needed]

In the 200m final, she won her second gold, clocking 21.78s; Dafne Schippers placed second in 21.88s and Tori Bowie third in 22.15s.[18]

She was the first female Jamaican sprinter to win the 100m and 200m at one Olympic Games and the seventh overall. She also ran in the national 4 × 100 m relay team which placed second, thus leaving Rio de Janeiro with three medals.

2017–2019[]

In 2017, Thompson-Herah was in the team which won a gold medal in the 4 × 200 metres relay at the World Relays, setting competition and national record with a time of 1:29.04.

She competed in the 100m at the 2017 London World Championships, placing 5th with at time of 10.98s.

At the 2019 World Championships in Doha, she finished 4th in the 100m running 10.93s. Thompson-Herah achieved a time of 22.61s in the 200m heats, qualifying for the semi-finals, but she did not start due to an Achilles tendon injury.[19]

2020–present[]

In 2020, Thompson-Herah ran seven 100m races and achieved times of under 11 seconds in five of them, with a season-best of 10.85s (10.73s with illegal wind). She won two Diamond League meets which were staged as one-off events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the 200m, her season-best was 22.19s.[citation needed]

In June 2021, at the Jamaican Championships, she placed third in her two signature events with times of 10.84s and 22.02s respectively, qualifying in both events for the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics. On 6 July, she achieved a time of 10.71s in the 100m, her fastest time since 2017, and 0.01 seconds off her personal best. She defeated Fraser-Pryce and won the World Athletics Continental Tour's Székesfehérvár Memorial in Hungary, setting a meet record.[20]

At the Tokyo Olympics, Thompson-Herah placed first in the women's 100 metres final, winning the gold medal as fellow Jamaican athletes Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson received the silver and bronze medals, respectively. She achieved the second-equal fastest time in history, setting both a Jamaican national record as well as the Olympic record of 10.61 seconds, breaking Florence Griffith-Joyner's time of 10.62 seconds set at the 1988 Olympics. Competing in the 200 metres, she first equalled her personal best of 21.66s in the semi-finals. In the final, she won the gold medal with a personal best time of 21.53.[21]

In August 2021, competing in the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon, Thompson-Herah won the 100m with a new personal best of 10.54 seconds, the second fastest time in women's history.[22] At the Lausanne Diamond League meet however, Thompson-Herah took second in the women's 100m in 10.64, behind Fraser-Pryce, who clocked 10.60.[23] She refreshed the meet record in the French Diamond League on August 29.[24]

Personal life[]

Thompson is married to former athlete and coach Derron Herah.[25]

Achievements[]

Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[26]

Personal bests[]

Event Time (s) Wind Venue Date Notes
60 metres outdoor 7.02 +1.7 m/s Kingston, Jamaica 28 January 2017
100 metres 10.54 +0.9 m/s Eugene, USA 21 August 2021 WL NR 2nd all-time[27]
200 metres 21.53 +0.8 m/s Tokyo, Japan 3 August 2021 WL NR 2nd all-time[28]
4 × 100 metres relay 41.02 Tokyo, Japan 6 August 2021 NR 2nd all-time[29]
4 × 200 metres relay 1:29.04 Nassau, Bahamas 22 April 2017 NR
60 metres indoor 6.98 Birmingham, United Kingdom 18 February 2017 WL[30]

Progression[]

As of July 2021, Thompson-Herah has achieved 43 finishes under 11 seconds in the 100 metres.[31][32]

International competitions[]

Thompson (center) at the 2016 Rio Olympics
Representing  Jamaica
Year Competition Venue Position Event Time Notes
2013 2013 CAC Championships Morelia, Mexico 1st 4 × 100 m 43.58
2014 Commonwealth Games Glasgow, United Kingdom 1st 4 × 100 m 42.44 GR [n 1]
2015 World Championships Beijing, China 2nd 200m 21.66 (+0.2 m/s) PB
1st 4 × 100 m 41.07 WL CR NR
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 3rd 60m 7.06
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1st 100m 10.71 (+0.5 m/s) [n 2]
1st 200m 21.78 (+0.5 m/s) WL [n 2]
2nd 4 × 100 m 41.36 SB
2017 World Relays Nassau, Bahamas 1st 4 × 200 m 1:29.04 CR NR
World Championships London, United Kingdom 5th 100m 10.98 (+0.1 m/s)
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 4th 60m 7.08
Commonwealth Games Gold Coast, Australia 4th 200m 22.30 (+0.9 m/s) SB
2nd 4 × 100 m 42.52
2019 World Relays Yokohama, Japan 3rd 4 × 200 m 1:33.21
Pan American Games Lima, Peru 1st 100m 11.18 (-0.6 m/s)
World Championships Doha, Qatar 4th 100m 10.93 (+0.1 m/s)
7th (heats) 200m 22.61 (+0.7 m/s) Q [n 3]
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 1st 100m 10.61 (-0.6 m/s) WL OR NR [n 4]
1st 200m 21.53 (+0.8 m/s) WL NR [n 5]
1st 4 × 100 m 41.02 NR

Circuit wins and titles[]

  • Diamond League winner (100m): 2016[34]
  • Diamond League champion (100m): 2017[35]
    • 2015 (2): London (200m), Zürich (4 × 100 m relay)
    • 2016 (6): Rabat (100m), Rome (100m), Lausanne (100m), Zürich (200m & 4 × 100 m relay), Brussels (100m)
    • 2017 (8): Doha (200m), Shanghai (100m), Paris (100m), London (100m), Rabat (100m), Birmingham (100m), Zürich (4 × 100 m relay), Brussels (100m)
    • 2019 (4): Rome (100m), London (200m & 4 × 100 m relay), Paris (100m)
    • 2020 (2): Rome (100m), Doha (100m)
    • 2021 (2): London Grand Prix in Gateshead (200m), Eugene (100m)
  • World Indoor Tour

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Time from the heats; Thompson was replaced in the final
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b Thompson became the first woman to win a gold medal in both the 100m and 200m at the same Olympics (Rio 2016) since Florence Griffith Joyner accomplished the feat at the 1988 Seoul Olympics[33]
  3. ^ Qualified for the semi-finals, but did not start (Achilles injury)[19]
  4. ^ Tied for 2nd fastest result of all time in women's 100m, but Griffith-Joyner ran a wind-aided 10.54. Thompson Herah's mark has been labeled by the media as the 'unofficial' world record at that distance.[27]
  5. ^ 2nd fastest result of all time in women's 200m[28]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c Foster, Laurie (23 June 2015). "Look Out For Elaine Thompson". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e Walker, Howard (20 May 2015). "Sensational Elaine Thompson keeps rising and rising". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  3. ^ Fairman, Shayne (24 April 2015). "MVP athletes among world's best - James". The Jamaica Star. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Elaine Thompson-Herah at Tilastopaja (registration required)
  5. ^ http://en.omriyadat.com/american-athletics/elaine-thompson-diamond-league-athletics
  6. ^ "Glasgow 2014 - Elaine Thompson Profile". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c Walker, Howard (27 June 2015). "MVP's masterstroke?". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  8. ^ Walker, Howard (12 April 2015). "UTech's Thompson blazes 10.92s for 100m to outshine Bolt, Fraser-Pryce at UTech Classic". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  9. ^ Sully, Kevin (31 May 2015). "Eugene: Barshim soars, sprinters fly". IAAF. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  10. ^ Elaine Thompson Wins Women's 100m | Brussels Diamond league. Retrieved on 2016-09-10.
  11. ^ Walker, Howard (25 June 2015). "Elaine Thompson withdraws from 100m at National Senior Champs". The Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  12. ^ Lowe, Andre (27 June 2015). "National Trials: Francis defends decision to run Thompson in 200m". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  13. ^ Higgins, Orville (3 July 2015). "Lay off Stephen Francis". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  14. ^ Lowe, Andre (29 June 2015). "Birthday win for Thompson". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  15. ^ "Londres: La Jamaïcaine Elaine Thompson domine le 200m". L'Équipe (in French). 25 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  16. ^ http://en.omriyadat.com/american-athletics/elaine-thompson-jamaica-sprint-diamond-league
  17. ^ Brown, Matthew (25 July 2015). "National 100m records for Schippers and Asher-Smith in London – IAAF Diamond League". IAAF. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  18. ^ Boylan-Pett, Liam (17 August 2016). "Rio 2016: Elaine Thompson wins gold medal in women's 200m run". SB Nation. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
  19. ^ Jump up to: a b Watta, Evelyn (15 September 2020). "Exclusive! Elaine Thompson-Herah: "Disappointment makes you better and stronger"". Olympics.com. IOC. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  20. ^ Smythe, Steve (12 July 2021). "Elaine Thompson-Herah looks sharp for Tokyo - weekly round-up". Athletics Weekly. Retrieved 17 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Elaine Thompson-Herah makes history with 200m gold to complete double-double". www.express.co.uk/.
  22. ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/athletics/58295310
  23. ^ "Fraser-Pryce clocks 10.60 in win over Thompson-Herah", Jamaica Observer, 26 August 2021 https://www.jamaicaobserver.com/latestnews/Fraser-Pryce_clocks_10.60_in_upset_win_over_Thompson-Herah?profile=1498 Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  24. ^ https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/article253818753.html
  25. ^ "Head over heels". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 6 November 2019.
  26. ^ "Elaine THOMPSON-HERAH – Athlete Profile". World Athletics. Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  27. ^ Jump up to: a b "All time Top lists – 100 m Women – Senior Outdoor". World Athletics. Retrieved 21 August 2021. Change filters for other event / age / territorial / time range
  28. ^ Jump up to: a b "All time Top lists – 200 m Women – Senior Outdoor". World Athletics. Retrieved 3 August 2021.
  29. ^ "All time Top lists – 4 x 100 m Relay Women – Senior Outdoor". World Athletics. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
  30. ^ "Thompson Shines Indoor". The Gleaner. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  31. ^ "All-time women's best 100m". alltime-athletics.com. Retrieved 1 August 2021. Inconsistent data across alltime-athletics.com / tilastopaja.eu / World Athletics databases. Added: 10.78 legal mark from 2021-05-02 in Clermont, FL
  32. ^ "Elaine Thompson-Herah – Profile". tilastopaja.eu. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  33. ^ Pantorno, Joe (17 August 2016). "Olympic Track and Field 2016: Women's 200M Medal Winners, Times and Results". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  34. ^ "Diamond Race Winners 2016: Brussels (BEL) 8-9 September 2016" (PDF). Diamond League. 9 September 2016. p. 8. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  35. ^ "Diamond League Champions 2017: Brussels (BEL) 31 August - 1 September 2017" (PDF). Diamond League. 1 September 2017. p. 3.

External links[]

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