Thompson-Herah has no plans to target Irinia Privalova's 29-y-o 60m world record
The World Female Athlete of the Year and nominee for Laureus Sportswoman of the Year is down to compete at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix on February 19 and at the ORLEN Copernicus Cup Indoor meet in Torun, Poland three days later, fueling speculation that following up on her success in Tokyo last year, that she would be attempting to break Irina Privalova’s record of 6.92 that has been on the books since February 11, 1993.
However, when Sportsmax.TV asked the five-time Olympic gold medalist if she harboured ambitions of breaking the record, emphatically dismissed the notion.
“I am not targeting the world record as I am not altering my program for indoor competition,” said Thompson-Herah, whose personal best of 6.98 was set on February 18, 2017.
She indicated that her reason for competing indoors is not about the record but is part of her preparation for the coming outdoor season.
“My indoor meets are for the improvement of my overall 100m race but I am feeling great that means anything is possible,” she said while suggesting that she is still mulling whether to compete at the World Indoor Championships in Serbia in March.
“I haven’t decided yet on World Indoors, just taking it a step at a time,” she said.
Incidentally, Thompson-Herah’s 6.98 is tied for eighth all-time with compatriot and rival Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who ran her time in Poland in March 2014.
Last month, Thompson-Herah ran a 60m race outdoors in 7.19 (-1.9m/s) at the Queens/Grace Jackson Meet in Kingston.