World-record holders Florence Griffith-Joyner and Usain may have something to do with Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson Herah shattering the former's 33-year-old Olympic record over the 100m and becoming the world's fastest woman over the 200m.
On Saturday, the 29-year-old Thompson-Herah won the Olympic 100m final in 10.61, a new Olympic record that eclipsed the 10.62 set by Florence Griffith-Joyner (Flo Jo) in Seoul in 1988. It effectively made her the second-fastest woman of all time moving her ahead of Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce who held that record since June 5 when she ran 10.63 during the Olympic Destiny Series at the National Stadium in Kingston.
On Tuesday, Thompson became the first woman to win back-to-back Olympic sprint doubles when she ran an impressive 21.53 to win the 200m in Tokyo.
Her husband, Deron Herah, a former 400m hurdler with Texas Tech University, reveals that studying the record-breaking performances of Bolt and the late American world record holder have provided insight on how to be a record-breaker herself.
“During the pandemic, she started studying Usain Bolt & Flo Jo’s record-breaking performances bit by bit. She used that to become an even better student of her events.,” he said.
“She told me she was confident some of those records can be broken, so to get the Olympic record and to be that fast over the 200m has given her a lot of confidence.”
Thompson Herah, a huge fan of Usain Bolt’s exploits on the track, also paid attention to aspects of his legendary races.
“He isn’t typically a great starter, so she looked at how he maintains his composure to finish his races. Elaine also noticed that Usain does a lot of self-talk to calm his nerves and so she channels that as well,” Herah said.
The Stephen-Francis-coached Thompson-Herah is, in her husband’s estimation, a great student of the sport.
“To me, her level of focus and passion is unmatched. She has always been great at running the event, but with continuous rehabilitative work on her Achilles and her sights set on even more records, the sky's the limit for her.”
Elaine Thompson-Herah was never booked for USATF Bermuda Grand Prix, says agent
Speculation surrounding the participation of five-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah at the highly anticipated USATF Bermuda Grand Prix has been dispelled by her agent, Marvin Anderson of Andi Sports Management. Despite earlier excitement and anticipation, Thompson-Herah was never officially booked or confirmed for the track meet scheduled for this Sunday at the Flora Duffy Stadium.
The revelation comes after recent reports sparked fervent anticipation among fans, particularly within Bermuda's Jamaican community, who were eagerly awaiting the opportunity to witness the "fastest woman alive" compete alongside other elite Caribbean athletes.
Yackeisha Weir, president of the Jamaican Association of Bermuda (JAB), expressed the community's high expectations and emphasized the honor of hosting Thompson-Herah ahead of the Paris Olympics. However, Anderson's statement to Sportsmax.TV on Friday shattered these hopes, clarifying that Thompson-Herah's presence at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix was never confirmed.
"She was never booked. She was never confirmed," Anderson asserted, addressing the confusion surrounding Thompson-Herah's potential appearance.
“I asked the meet organizers if they had put out something and they said no, so I don’t know where that was leaked from. I know they had an interest way back, but no.”
Despite this setback, Anderson assured fans that Thompson-Herah has been diligently training and is gearing up for a successful upcoming season. While Thompson-Herah's name was notably absent from the start lists for Sunday's meet, other Jamaican athletes, including Alana Reid and Kemba Nelson, are set to showcase their talents in the 100m event. Ashanti Moore is the only Jamaican down to contest the 200m.
JC, KC book spots in 4x800m final
Jamaican track & field powerhouses Jamaica College and Kingston College both secured spots in the final of the High School Boys 4x800m on day two of the 128th Penn Relays at the Franklin Field in Philadelphia on Friday.
JC’s quartet of Nellie Amberton, Samuel Creary, Rasheed Pryce and Kemarrio Bygrave combined to qualify fastest with a time of 7:45.38.
KC (Schevorn Wardlow, Nahashon Ruto, Brian Kiprop, Jaquan Coke) ran 7:53.86 to finish second in their heat and advance as the eighth fastest school overall.
Wins for Jamaican duo McLeod and Anderson in Italy on Thursday
As they continue their preparations for Jamaica’s national championships in June, Olympic champion Omar McLeod and World Championship silver medallist Britany Anderson, were both winners at a La Fratellanza 1874 meeting in Italy on Thursday.
McLeod, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday, won the 100m in a brisk 10.32 in a race that also included Britain’s Adam Gemili. Obviously elated over his victory, the 2017 world champion, declared on Instagram, “A win today in the 100m was all I had on my birthday wish list.
“10.32 in an ankle freezing 15-degree weather is a solid opener. Beyond excited for what is to come this season.”
Meanwhile, Anderson, in only her second hurdles race back from injury and knee surgery that saw her miss the entire 2023 season, clocked 13.34 into a 1.4 m/s headwind in a dominant victory in which she widened her lead at each hurdle.
As the meeting concluded on Thursday, things are looking up for the Jamaican sprint hurdlers looking to reclaim their places among Jamaica's elite as the Olympics approach this summer.
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