Two-time double Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah says training is going well ahead of her bid to defend her titles in Paris later this year.

The 31-year-old has switched camps this season and is now training under Reynaldo Walcott, who also coaches 3-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

“It has been great. My schedule has changed with a different system and different coach so I’m just trying to get accustomed to that and I think I’m in a good place right now and I’m happy about that,” Thompson-Herah said in an interview with Citius Mag.

The early part of Thompson-Herah’s 2023 season was hampered with injury.

In an interview with SportsMax.tv after her 100m season opener at the JAAA All Comers Meet at Jamaica College on June 24 last year, Thompson-Herah explained how her training had been hampered so much because of constant pain, going as far as to say her persistent injuries almost caused her to quit the sport entirely.

“Honestly, I’m feeling good despite the fact that I’ve been out so long. It has been a challenging one but, I still hang on. I almost gave up but I have faith and I came out here to just test my body to see where I’m at. My training has not been how I wanted it to but, the fact that I missed so much and came out here and ran 11.23 today, I’m just grateful,” she said after the race.

“People see us on the track all the time but they don’t know what comes behind that. I cried most mornings when I was driving home in my car because I see that I’m working hard and I’m not getting the results I want. I was on the verge of giving up, honestly, but God spoke to me and said ‘you cannot give up right now because I took you this far,” she added.

Nine months later, Thompson-Herah says she feels good heading into the season and is focused on remaining healthy before anything else.

“I feel good. It’s like if you have a car and have to service the car. My duty is to make sure that my body is fine-tuned and always ready for the goal. The key focus is to always stay healthy. The time doesn’t matter right now. What matters is getting through each race fit and healthy. Once I have that, the time will come after. The aim is always to break a world record and defend my title,” she said.

“For me the mindset is I have to be strong and have to be positive. Push out those negative thoughts and replace them with positive ones. It’s all about getting my workout done each day. Once that is done, I pray to Christ and I’m happy. The key that I walk with every day is believing in myself,” she added.

Having won the sprint double at the last two Olympics in Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2021, Thompson-Herah was asked if she feels any pressure to complete the three-peat in Paris this year.

“Only time I ever feel pressure is if I have an injury. The pressure is trying to wonder how can I fix this injury fast to make to the Olympics and to make it to the Olympics, we have to go to national trials and once I have that ready I think I’m good. For now, just stay focused and healthy,” she said.