Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica wins gold medal in women’s 100 meters in Olympic record 10.61 seconds
Elaine Thompson-Herah took gold in the women’s 100 metres final to defend her title as Jamaica locked out the podium.
Thompson-Herah finished in a time of 10.61secs to set a new Olympic record and retain her crown ahead of two-time former champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, with Shericka Jackson completing a 1-2-3 for Jamaica.
Cote d’Ivoire’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou was fourth, 0.15 seconds off the bronze medal place, ahead of Swiss duo Ajla del Ponte and Mujinga Kambundji, while USA’s Teahna Daniels was seventh.
Britain’s Daryll Neita finished last after exceeding expectations to reach the final, setting a time of 11.12secs.
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Thompson-Herah’s time was the second fastest in history, beaten only by Florence Griffith-Joyner’s world record of 10.49secs set back in 1988.
Jamaica had claimed two medals in each of the last two Olympic women’s 100m finals, but this was a repeat of their podium lockout in Beijing, when Fraser-Pryce won the first of her titles ahead of compatriots Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart.
Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica wins gold medal in women’s 100 meters in Olympic record 10.61 seconds
Elaine Thompson-Herah
broke Florence Griffith Joyner’s 33-year-old Olympic record in the women’s 100 meters. She crossed the line in 10.61 seconds to defend her title and lead a Jamaican sweep of the medals. The old record of 10.62 belonged to Florence Griffith Joyner. She set that mark at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Thompson-Herah beat rival Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce by .13 seconds. Shericka Jackson won bronze. This had been shaping up as a fast race for some time. Fraser-Pryce ran the fourth-fastest time in history at 10.63 seconds in June.
Thompson-Herah defends Olympic 100m gold in Jamaican sweep
Elaine Thompson-Herah held off compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to defend her Olympic 100m gold in a Games-record 10.61, assuming the title of world’s fastest woman alive; their teammate Shericka Jackson took bronze.
Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica wins gold medal in women’s 100 meters in Olympic record 10.61 seconds
Elaine Thompson-Herah of Jamaica wins gold medal in women’s 100 meters in Olympic record 10.61 seconds.
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Tokyo Olympics: Elaine Thompson-Herah defends 100m title
Elaine Thompson-Herah became the second-fastest woman in history as she beat fellow Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to defend her Olympic 100m title.
The 29-year-old ran 10.61 seconds, a new Olympic record and just 0.12secs short of the world record set by the US’ Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988.
Shericka Jackson completed a Jamaican one-two-three in Tokyo with a time of 10.76, 0.02 behind Fraser-Pryce.
Great Britain’s Daryll Neita finished eighth in 11.12.
However, team-mate Dina Asher-Smith failed to qualify for the final and then withdrew from the 200m after revealing she tore her hamstring earlier this month.
“I have been struggling with my injury back and forth,” Thompson-Herah told BBC Sport after victory.
“I see all the bad comments. I take all of my losses, all of my defeats and I use them as my motivation.”
Thompson-Herah wins Jamaican shake-down
Fraser-Pryce, who qualified fastest for the final, found herself under pressure almost immediately from the gun as her usual whip-smart start did not fire as expected.
With the long-striding Thompson-Herah on her shoulder, Fraser-Pryce tensed up over the final 30 metres.
Thompson-Herah’s lead was comfortable enough to salute the clock and photographers as she crossed the line in a time that matches Griffith-Joyner’s second-fastest time.
It also sets a new Olympic record.
Thompson-Herah, who came third in the Jamaican trials earlier this year, relished her victory over her domestic rivals, with silver little consolation to a grim-faced Fraser-Pryce.
“It wasn’t the best 30 metres because I had a stumble at about the third step and I never recovered from it,” said the 34-year-old, who was aiming to be become the first woman to win three Olympic 100m titles.
“I am excited because, as a mother and at my fourth Olympics, to be able to stand again on the podium is just a tremendous honour.
“But, you know, my emotions are still very raw right now. I am sure I will go home and there will be some tears.”
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Achilles injury eases just in time
Thompson-Herah has been suffering with an Achilles tendon injury for almost five years.
It forced her to withdraw from Doha 2019, where she had hoped to win her first individual world crown. Instead, she watched from home as Fraser-Pryce claimed her fifth.
She came close to pulling out of last month’s Jamaican trials because of a recurring bout of pain from the injury.
But she managed to make the start line and qualify in the 100m and 200m, ensuring she will have a chance to repeat her sprint double from Rio.
Of course, Tuesday’s 200m final will also give Fraser-Pryce a chance of revenge.
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Hodgkinson leads British trio into 800m final
Great Britain will have three athletes in the women’s 800m final for the first time, with Keely Hodgkinson providing the standout performance.
The 19-year-old timed her finish to perfection to win her semi-final on the line in one minute 59.12 seconds.
Jemma Reekie was second in her semi-final in 1:59.77, while Alex Bell (1:58.83) qualified for Tuesday’s final as one of the two fastest losers.
“It’s a dream come true. I did not expect to be on this journey,” said Bell. “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be an Olympic finalist.”
GB will have three men in Sunday’s 100m semi-finals, with Zharnel Hughes running a season’s best of 10.04 seconds, while CJ Ujah (10.08) also qualified automatically.
A season’s best by Reece Prescod (10.12) sent him through as one of the three fastest losers, with Canadian 2016 bronze medallist Andre de Grasse (9.91) the fastest qualifier from Saturday’s heats.
Elaine Thompson-Herah sets Olympic record as Jamaica sweeps women’s 100
The women’s Olympic 100-meter gold medal is staying in Jamaica — all of the medals are, in fact.
Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson finished 1-2-3 in a clean sweep for the island nation in a race that turned out to be as fast as anticipated watching Thompson-Herah and Fraser-Pryce advance through the first two rounds.
The gold medalist in Rio in 2016 as well, Thompson-Herah took control quickly and she and Fraser-Pryce began to pull away from the pack at about 40 meters. But Thompson-Herah had clear separation with about 15 meters to go, crossing the finish line and pointing at the clock in disbelief.
Her time of 10.61 seconds is a new Olympic record, surpassing Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 10.62 seconds, which had stood since the 1988 Seoul Games. It’s also the second-fastest time in history.
“This is really special. Super special. I knew I could have run this from like 2016, but I think I celebrated early too much and I knew one day it would come, hopefully,” Thompson-Herah said.
Fraser-Pryce’s time was 10.74 seconds, and Jackson’s 10.76.
This is the second time in the last four Olympics Jamaica swept the women’s 100 — the first was in 2008, when Fraser-Pryce won her first gold (she’d win it again in 2012).
The win for Thompson-Herah was no sure thing: She’s been dealing with an Achilles injury and she finished third at the Jamaican Trials in both the 100 and 200.
“Two months ago, probably a month-and-a-half, I didn’t think I would be here today,” Thompson-Herah said. “And I held my composure, I believe in myself, I believe in God, and the team around me is very strong, I get that support. I didn’t expect to run this fast, even though I felt great during the rounds.
“Behind this 10.61 there was a lot of nerves. I said, ‘You can do this, you’ve been here before, just execute.'”
This is the third gold medal for the 29-year-old, as she also won the 200 meters in Rio. She was part of the silver medal-winning 4×100 relay as well.
Fraser-Pryce said she stumbled a bit on her third step and never fully recovered. Her silver was her seventh Olympic medal.
“I’m happy to be able to come out here and to represent and to compete for the championship; that’s always a plus, when you come and you give it everything you have and then whatever happens you walk away and you are grateful for the opportunity and you move to the next one,” she said.
The only American in the final was Teahna Daniels. She finished seventh in the final in 11.02 seconds after running a personal-best 10.98 seconds in the semifinal.
Smiling throughout her interview, Daniels was happy to be part of history.
“She just ran 10.61,” she exclaimed.
“I felt good. I did. I felt good. I was honestly just really blessed to be in that moment; I’ve had a very long season of ups and downs, so to finish it as an individual finalist, that’s special,” Daniels said.
She said her indoor season “went OK,” but at the start of the outdoor season she wasn’t performing as she expected. After the Mt. SAC meet in early May, she took a six-week break from competing and focused on training.
“Probably six of the hardest weeks I’ve ever had,” she said. “We worked really, really hard to get me in the shape I’m in now, so I can’t be upset about it.”
Since the 100 is a marquee event and there being no real fans in the stands beyond coaches and other athletes, the lights inside Tokyo Olympic Stadium were brought down and the straightaway became a screen, showing each woman’s name and flag as she was introduced.
All of it was something Daniels had dreamed of.
“I have watched when Shelly-Ann won the 100 in 2012 so many times, and I dream of having that exact moment, and I know it’s going to come,” she said.
It has now been since 1996 when Gail Devers won her second of back-to-back golds that an American woman officially won the Olympic 100. Marion Jones won in 2000 but was subsequently stripped of her gold after she was found to be part of the BALCO steroid scandal.
Thompson-Herah and Fraser-Pryce were stellar in the early rounds, with such great starts and ahead by so much in their first two races that they were both able to throttle down and breeze over the finish line. Not going full-out meant they reserved at least some energy heading into the final, key since the scheduling of the races didn’t afford much time to recover.
The most surprising result from the semis was British racer Dina Asher-Smith. The silver medalist at the 2019 World Championships was third in her heat but her time of 11.05 seconds was not fast enough to advance. Asher-Smith is the reigning 200 world champion, so she will get a chance to redeem herself starting Monday.
Elaine Thompson-Herah
(née Thompson; born 28 June 1992) is a Jamaican track and field sprinter specializing in the 100 metres and 200 metres. She completed a rare sprint double winning gold medals in both events at the 2016 Rio Olympics, where she added a silver in the 4×100 m relay. Thompson-Herah took silver in the 200 m at the 2015 World Championships adding gold in the 4×100 m relay, and competed in the 100 m at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships placing fifth and fourth, respectively. Thompson-Herah took gold in the 100m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, her time of 10.61 s being the second fastest time in women’s history. She currently ranks as the 2nd fastest woman of all time in the 100 m, and the 6th fastest in the 200 m.
Thompson-Herah has started competing internationally in 2013-14 to make her individual breakthrough in 2015, when she achieved her first mark below 11 seconds in the 100 m and set her up-to-date personal best of 21.66 s in the 200 m. Having recorded 40 sub-11-second runs in the 100 m, including former national record of 10.70 s, she is also the 2019 Pan American Games champion and a two time Diamond League winner in the event.