Thompson-Herah, who recently separated from interim coach Shanikie Osbourne is a contentious parting of ways, will once again be in the same training group as two-time Olympic 100m gold medallist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.
Thompson-Herah, the fastest woman alive courtesy of her 10.54s 100m win at the Diamond League meeting in Eugene, Oregon in August 2021, expressed gratitude to her many supporters, who stood by her during her recent much-publicized departure from Osbourne’s group.
According to the statement released by her agent, Ms Thompson-Herah remains as “dedicated as ever to her craft, demonstrating an unequivocal focus on the path ahead. Her commitment to excellence is unwavering and she is resolute in her pursuit of the double Olympic titles she so triumphantly earned.”
If not, why is she reportedly training separately from her MVP teammates?
The recently minted four-time 100m world champion is, according to eyewitness accounts, now training under the watchful eye of Reynaldo Walcott at Jamaica’s National Stadium in Kingston while MVP’s athletes train at the nearby Stadium East facility.
Walcott, who coaches at St. Elizabeth Technical High School in Santa Cruz, Jamaica, briefly coached the two-time Olympic 100m champion after she left the club following the 2016 Rio Olympics campaign.
The Digicel Ambassador returned to the MVP track club in early 2017, eventually going on to win her fourth 100m world title in Doha in 2019 under the brilliant guidance of Coach Stephen Francis.
In response to queries from Sportsmax.TV, the athlete’s management has been mum on the issue.
Bruce James, Fraser-Pryce’s manager, said he was unable to comment on whether Walcott was once again coaching the woman many believe to be the greatest-ever female sprinter. Walcott also declined to comment when questioned by Sportsmax.TV on Thursday. “I cannot comment on that,” he said.
However, in the past few days, Fraser-Pryce’s name was reportedly on a list of athletes approved to train at Independence Park inside the National Stadium. Moreover, several individuals not affiliated with MVP, but who still declined to go on record, told Sportsmax.TV that looking on, they saw Fraser-Pryce training alone under Walcott’s watchful eye as recently as yesterday (Wednesday).
Sources indicate that Fraser-Pryce has not been at the MVP training site for several days. Some MVP athletes, those sources said, believe an injury is the reason for her absence.
The “Pocket Rocket’ first came to prominence at the MVP track club in 2008 when she surprised many by finishing second at the Jamaican National Championships in 10.82s behind Kerron Stewart but upstaging veterans Sherone Simpson and Veronica Campbell-Brown, who finished third and fourth, respectively.
At the Beijing Olympics that year, she won the 100m in 10.78, becoming the first Jamaican woman to win an Olympic 100m title. She followed up that performance by winning the first of her four 100m World titles in 10.73s at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin, Germany.
She would go on to Moscow in 2013 where she won the treble (100m, 200m, 4x100m) and then defended her 100m title in Helsinki in 2015.
She battled a debilitating toe injury at the 2016 Rio Olympics where she won a bronze medal in the 100m before temporarily parting company with the club.
The joint national 100m record holder will be attempting to win a third 100m Olympic gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, which were postponed until 2021 because of the Coronavirus COVID19 pandemic.
The club announced her arrival on Instagram on Monday.
The 22-year-old Nelson recently graduated from the University of Oregon after winning NCAA silver in the blue ribbon sprint at the 2022 NCAA Division I Championships in June. She followed up with a third-place finish at Jamaica’s National Championships and earned a spot in the 100m at the ongoing World Championships.
She was sixth in her semi-final in 11.25.
She goes to Elite Performance with a personal best of 7.05 in the 60m dash, the time she ran while winning the NCAA Indoor title in 2021; 10.88 in the 100m and 22.74 in the 200m.
She will join a growing cadre of elite athletes in the training group including World Championship bronze medallist Rushell Clayton and Julian Forte.
