"I think my journey hasn't fully started yet."
For a double Olympic champion to say that may seem strange. But in the case of Elaine Thompson-Herah, who made such a claim in an interview with the Olympic Channel last September, it makes sense.
Five years ago in Rio, Thompson-Herah had toppled the great Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the two-time defending 100 metres women's champion at that point, who had struggled for form having contended with a painful toe injury.
When she followed up with 200m glory she became the first Jamaican to do the sprint double at the same Games. She was only the second from any nation in history do it.
It was as though a ceremonial torch had been passed from Fraser-Pryce, whose rise to stardom had coincided so beautifully with Usain Bolt's in a glorious era for Jamaican sprinting, to Thompson-Herah.
Only the path in sports is never quite so straightforward, and so it proved for Thompson-Herah.
Just a year later, while Fraser-Pryce was absent having gone into labour with her first child, she placed fifth in the 100m final at the 2017 World Championships in London and did not even compete in the 200m.
Two years later, in Doha, disappointment struck again. Fraser-Pryce had returned to the top of the 100m food chain to reclaim gold. Thompson-Herah placed outside the medals in fourth. In the 200m, she was forced to pull out prior to the semi-finals with a nagging Achilles injury that had plagued her since 2018.
Those injuries were never used as an excuse. Instead it only fuelled a fire inside to return to the top.
"Disappointments do come, but I have to continue to work hard because no athlete goes into a championship to lose. I didn't go to a championship to lose. It was beyond my control," she said in the aforementioned Olympics Channel interview.
"Because sometimes when you have pain you don't want to share it on social media and share it with everybody. When you have pain, you think you can still do your best. I always tell myself that even if I am having pain, I am going to give my 100 per cent, even if it's not going to be 100 per cent, I know I am going to do my best."
Then, as it did for every athlete whether for better or worse, fate intervened. The coronavirus pandemic forced the postponement of the Games. For some, opportunity was denied. For others, there was a chance to hit the reset button.
Thompson-Herah was frustrated that the chance to defend her titles had been delayed but, having started training late in 2020, the extra time proved a blessing.
It has been a very competitive year in the women's 100m. Eight women had clocked a time under 10.90 seconds this season prior to these Games. Jamaicans Fraser-Pryce, Thompson-Herah and Shericka Jackson, the trio who ultimately occupied the podium in the Japanese capital, had gone below 10.80.
The injury niggles continued to trouble Thompson-Herah and forced her to miss a Diamond League Meeting in Gateshead. It also left her fearing she may not be able to compete at the Jamaican trials in June, where she placed third behind Fraser-Pryce and Jackson.
But just earlier this month she ran a 10.71 in Hungary, her fastest since 2017 and just outside her previous personal best of 10.70.
The confidence was growing and yet the spotlight was largely still on Fraser-Pryce, who was attempting to make history as the first woman to win a single athletics event three times.
But Thompson-Herah has now emulated her great compatriot by going back-to-back in the 100m – something Fraser-Pryce achieved at Beijing in 2008 and London 2012.
What is even more impressive is the way she did it. A final tipped to thrill lived up to its billing at a time when Tokyo 2020 needs its marquee events to deliver the goods.
Fraser-Pryce got off to a flier but from 60m onwards there was only ever winner. A time of 10.61 marks a new Olympic record, and the second fastest ever run in the women's 100m. There could have been no more perfect moment to pull the performance of a lifetime out of the bag.
Her victory in an event dubbed the "Race of the Games" completes an emotional return to the pinnacle. From bursting onto the scene, through the injury troubles, peaking at the right time – all have culminated in Thompson-Herah once more scaling the mountain.
This was the moment her journey began again.
Olympic champion Hansle Parchment dedicates World Champs silver to long-time coach Fitz Coleman: "He deserves this as much as I do"
In yet another example of why Hansle Parchment continues to be a fan favourite who continues to perform at the highest level, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics champion has dedicated the silver medal he won at the 2023 World Athletics Championships to his long-time coach Fitz Coleman.
Parchment, 33, who won his first Diamond League trophy last month in a lifetime best and world-leading 12.93s run, was the runner-up to the now three-time world champion Grant Holloway of the USA, in Budapest in August. On Monday, he shared on social media that that silver medal holds special meaning.
“This year’s world championship in Budapest was special as I received a second medal for my coach,” he said. “Mr. Fitz Coleman has been my coach for 14 years and counting. He has been a friend and a mentor. He’s been a guiding force in all my achievements and I want to send a heartfelt thanks as he deserves this medal as much as I do.”
Parchment will attempt to defending his Olympic title in Paris next summer. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Parchment stunned the world by upstaging Holloway, the gold medal favorite, winning his first Olympic title in 13.04.
On This Day in 2019: Dina Asher-Smith wins gold at World Athletics Championships
Dina Asher-Smith became the first British female to win a world sprint title when she took gold in the 200 metres final at the World Athletics Championships in Doha on this day in 2019.
Asher-Smith, then 23, set a British record with a time of 21.88 seconds that was enough to beat American Brittany Brown, upgrading the silver she had taken in the 100m final earlier in the meeting.
“I know I was tired and woke up today knowing this was the last individual chance and this was the moment I did all my work for,” Asher-Smith said after the race.
“This is what we knew we could achieve if the season went well, and the tiredness just disappeared when I needed it to.
“It means so much. There’s so many British fans here. I know lots of Brits live in Doha but lots have travelled and for my mum to be here, my dad, John and his wife and my physios… it means so much.”
Asher-Smith had been elevated to favourite in the race after a number of rivals pulled out of the event, with then Olympic champion Elaine Thompson, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Marie-Josee Ta Lou and Dafne Schippers all missing.
Asher-Smith’s performances in Doha boosted hopes that she could contend for a medal at the Tokyo Olympics as she had broken her own British record in the 100m final.
After the postponement of the Games by 12 months amid the coronavirus pandemic, Asher-Smith was selected to race in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay.
However, she failed to get through qualifying in the 100m and later revealed she had suffered a hamstring injury, forcing her to pull out of the 200m.
Nevertheless, Asher-Smith was able to compete in the 4x100m relay and helped Great Britain win bronze.
Shericka Jackson on the verge of becoming the greatest women combined sprinter of all time
Two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson is now the second-best female combined sprinter of all time and could soon to become the greatest of all time if she runs faster in the 100m, 200m or 400m in the coming season.
As at the end of the 2022/2023 season when she won her second 200m world title in championship record time of 21.41 at the World Championships, Jackson now boasts personal best time of 10.65 in the 200m, 21.41 in the 200m and 49.47 in the 400m.
The super-talented Jamaican, who is also the only athlete to win global medals in all three events, has amassed ranking points of 1277 for her lifetime best of 10.65 in the 100m, 1301 for her national record time of 21.41 in the 200m and 1227 for her personal best 49.47 in the 400m for a tally of 3805 points.
Only one woman has more points and that is Germany’s Marita Koch, who ran times of 10.83 for the 100m, 21.71 for the 200m and a remarkable 47.60, the world record, for the 400m for a total of 3809 points.
It was not that long ago that Jackson was further down the list behind the likes of Florence Griffith-Joyner (3), Marion Jones (4), Shaunae Miller-Uibo (5), Allyson Felix (6), Gwen Torrence (7) and Marie Jose Perec, (8) all of whom are ranked among the top 10 best combined sprinters in history.
She is the highest-ranked Jamaican with the iconic Merlene Ottey (10.74/21.64/51.12) ranked 13th, Grace Jackson (11.08/21.72/49.57) ranked 16th and Veronica Campbell-Brown (10.76/21.74/52.24) ranked 22nd.
In fact, in 2021, Jackson was 21st in the list before her outstanding performances over the last three seasons saw her rocket up the list to the number two slot. In 2021, Jackson has lifetimes bests of 10.76/21.81/49.47 for the 100m, 200m and 400m, respectively.
Breaking the world record of 21.34 in the 200m, a goal that is well within her reach, dipping under 10.60 for the 100m or running 48 seconds over the 400m and she will take her rightful place of Greatest Of All Time among women combined sprinters.
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