Elaine Thompson shatters 100m Olympic record | Sunday Observer

Elaine Thompson shatters 100m Olympic record

1 August, 2021
Elaine Thompson
Elaine Thompson

TOKYO, July 31. – Jamaican sprint sensation Elaine Thompson-Herah shattered a 33-year-old Olympic Games women's 100m record while her teammates made a clean sweep in the final at the Olympic Stadium under lights yesterday.

She not only won her dream Olympic Games women’s 100m title but achieved that in grand fashion breaking a 33-year-old Olympic record, clocking 10.61 seconds. That was not all for her country as Jamaica made a clean sweep on the victory podium as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce settled for silver and Shericka Jackson the bronze medal. Thompson-Herah narrowly erased the Olympic record held by veteran Florence Griffith Joyner, set in the 1988 Seoul Olympics that stood at 10.62 seconds. However, Joyner's world record in 100m – 10.49 set months before the 1988 Seoul Olympics, remains intact.

The 29-year-old Thompson-Herah became the second-fastest woman in history as she beat fellow Jamaican Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce to defend her Olympic 100m title. Thompson-Herah ran 10.61 seconds, just 0.12 secs short of the world record set 33 years ago by American Florence Griffith-Joyner. Shericka Jackson completed a Jamaican one-two-three in Tokyo with a time of 10.76, 0.02 behind Fraser-Pryce.

Fraser-Pryce, who qualified the fastest for the final, found herself under pressure. She was down 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.

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