Elaine Thompson

Elaine Thompson-Herah (born 28 June 1992) is a Jamaican track and field sprinter. She rose to prominence at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, completing a rare sprint double to win gold in the 100m (with a time of 10.71 s) and the 200m (21.78 s). The previous Olympian to so do was Florence Griffith Joyner at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. Thompson currently ranks as the fifth-fastest woman in the 200 metres event and tied fourth-fastest in the 100 metres.

Elaine Thompson

Elaine Thompson celebrating her silver medal at the 2015 World Championships
Personal information
Born	(1992-06-28) June 28, 1992 Manchester, Jamaica
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 5 ^1⁄2 in)
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
Country	Jamaica
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	100 metres 200 metres 4×100 m relay
College team	UTech
Club	MVP Track Club
Coached by	Stephen Francis
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 1 0 World Championships 1 1 0 World Indoor Championships 0 0 1 IAAF World Relays 1 0 0 CAC Championships 1 0 0 Commonwealth Games 1 1 0 Total 6 3 1 Women's athletics Representing  Jamaica Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m relay World Championships 2015 Beijing 4×100 m relay 2015 Beijing 200 m World Indoor Championships 2016 Portland 60 m World Relay Championships 2017 Nassau 4×200 m relay CAC Championships 2013 Morelia 4×100 m relay Commonwealth Games 2014 Glasgow 4x100m relay 2018 Gold Coast 4x100m relay Pan American Games 2019 Lima 100 m

Early life

Thompson is a native of Banana Ground in Manchester Parish, Jamaica.[1] Running for Christiana High School and later Manchester High School, Thompson was a good but not outstanding scholastic sprinter; her best result at the Jamaican ISSA Grace Kennedy Boys and Girls Championships came in 2009, when she placed fourth in the Class Two 100 metres in 12.01.[2] In 2011, her final year at Manchester High, she was left off the track team for disciplinary reasons.[1][2]

Athletic career

After high school, she was recruited to the University of Technology, Jamaica by Paul Francis, brother of MVP Track Club head coach Stephen Francis. With MVP coaching, Thompson's times started improving steadily.[2][3] In 2013, she clocked a season best of 11.41 at the Gibson Relays and placed second behind Carrie Russell at the Jamaican Intercollegiate Championships; at the 2013 Central American and Caribbean Championships in Morelia she won gold in the 4 × 100 metres relay, running the first leg on the Jamaican team as it won in 43.58.[1][4][5] In 2014 Thompson won her first intercollegiate title, placed fifth in 11.26 at the national championships and had a season best of 11.17.[2][4] She represented Jamaica at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, running in the 4 × 100 m relay heats; Jamaica won their heat in 42.44, and went on to win gold in the final with Thompson not in the line-up.[4][6]

2015

Thompson made her international breakthrough in 2015.[7] She repeated as Jamaican intercollegiate champion in March and broke 11 seconds for the first time at the UTech Classic on 11 April, running a world-leading 10.92.[2][8] She then ran 10.97 at the Jamaica International Invitational in Kingston, defeating a field that included Blessing Okagbare and Allyson Felix; the win confirmed her new status as one of the world's leading sprinters.[7] At the Pre Classic in Eugene Thompson was narrowly beaten by English Gardner in the B-race as both were timed in 10.84; as of 27 July 2015, which was Thompson's personal best in the 100 m and ranked her 30th on the world all-time list.[4][9][10]

Thompson was expected to run the 100 metres at the Jamaican National Championships, which doubled as trials for the 2015 World Championships in Beijing; however, her coach Stephen Francis pulled her from that event and instead had her concentrate on the 200 metres, in which she had set a personal best of 22.37 in May.[7][11] The move generated controversy in Jamaica; Francis stated that Thompson was not ready to double, and that she had been prepared for the 200 m in which her main weakness, the start, would not play as large a role.[12][13] Thompson won the national 200 m title in 22.51, qualifying for the World Championships.[14]

At the London Grand Prix on 25 July 2015 Thompson won a non-Diamond League 200 m race in 22.10, defeating Americans Tori Bowie and Candyce McGrone; the time was her new personal best and broke Merlene Ottey's meeting record from 1991.[15][16][17] At the 2015 World Championships held in Beijing, Thompson won the silver medal, behind Dafne Schippers. Thompson's time of 21.66 was faster than the previous championships record but 0.03 slower than Schippers.

2016

In the 100 metres women's final in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro she won the gold medal, ahead of Tori Bowie and the 2012 London Summer Olympics winner and fellow country woman Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

In the 200 metre woman's final at the 2016 Olympic Games, Thompson won the gold medal, Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands won the silver medal.[18]

She is the first female Jamaican sprinter to win the 100 metres and 200 metres at one Olympic Games. The previous Olympian to so do was Florence Griffith Joyner competing for the U.S. at the 1988 Seoul Summer Olympics. Thompson currently ranks as the fifth-fastest woman in the 200 metres event and tied fourth-fastest in the 100 metres.

Achievements

• Information from World Athletics profile unless otherwise noted.[19]

International championships

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  Jamaica
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	1st	4×100 m relay	41.07 WL CR NR^1
			2nd	200 m	21.66 PB (+0.2 m/s)
2016	World Indoor Championships	Portland, United States	3rd	60 m	7.06
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	1st^2	100 m	10.71 (+0.5 m/s)
			1st^2	200 m	21.78 WL (+0.5 m/s)
			2nd	4×100 m relay	41.36 SB
2017	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	1st	4×200 m relay	1:29.04 CR NR^3
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	5th	100 m	10.98 (+0.1 m/s)
2018	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	4th	60 m	7.08
2018	Commonwealth Games	Gold Coast, Australia	4th	200 m	22.30 SB (+0.9 m/s)
			2nd	4×100 m relay	42.52
2019	World Relays	Yokohama, Japan	3rd	4×200 m relay	1:33.21
	Pan American Games	Lima, Peru	1st	100 m	11.18 (-0.6 m/s)
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	4th	100 m	10.93 (+0.1 m/s)
			7th (heats)	200 m	22.61 Q^4 (+0.7 m/s)

• ¹Shared with Veronica Campbell-Brown, Natasha Morrison, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce for Jamaica.
• ²Elaine Thompson became the first woman to win a gold medal in both the 100 m and 200 m at the same Olympics (Rio 2016), since Florence Griffith Joyner accomplished the feat at the Seoul Olympics in 1988.[20]
• ³Shared with Jura Levy, Shericka Jackson, and Shashalee Forbes for Jamaica.
• ⁴Qualified for the semi-finals, but did not start.[21]

Circuit wins

• IAAF Diamond League: 2016 (100 m), 2017 (100 m)
  • 2015: London (200 m), Zürich (4×100 m relay)
  • 2016: Rabat (100 m), Rome (100 m), Lausanne (100 m), Zürich (200 m), Brussels (100 m)
  • 2017: Doha (200 m), Shanghai (100 m), Paris (100 m), London (100 m), Rabat (100 m), Birmingham (100 m), Zürich (4×100 m relay), Brussels (100 m)
  • 2019: Rome (100 m), London (200 m & 4×100 m relay), Paris (100 m)

• IAAF World Indoor Tour
  • 2017: Birmingham (60 m)
  • 2019: Birmingham (60 m)

Personal bests

Event	Time	Venue	Date	Notes
60 m	6.98	Birmingham, United Kingdom	18 February 2017	WL[22] (indoor)
100 m	10.70	Kingston, Jamaica	1 July 2016	WL =NR^1 (+0.3 m/s)
200 m	21.66	Beijing, China	28 August 2015	(+0.2 m/s)
4×100 m relay	41.07	Beijing, China	29 August 2015	WL NR^2
4×200 m relay	1:29.04	Nassau, Bahamas	22 April 2017	NR^3

• ¹Shared with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce for Jamaica.
• ²Shared with Veronica Campbell-Brown, Natasha Morrison, and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce for Jamaica.
• ³Shared with Jura Levy, Shericka Jackson, and Shashalee Forbes for Jamaica.

Seasonal bests

100 metres

• 2013: 11.41
• 2014: 11.17
• 2015: 10.84
• 2016: 10.70
• 2017: 10.71
• 2018: 10.93
• 2019: 10.73

200 metres

• 2013: 23.73
• 2014: 23.23
• 2015: 21.66
• 2016: 21.78
• 2017: 21.98
• 2018: 22.30
• 2019: 22.00

Personal Life

Thompson is married to former athlete Derron Herah [23]

References

1. Foster, Laurie (23 June 2015). "Look Out For Elaine Thompson". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
2. Walker, Howard (20 May 2015). "Sensational Elaine Thompson keeps rising and rising". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
3. "MVP athletes among world's best - James". Jamaica Star. 24 April 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
4. Elaine Thompson at Tilastopaja (registration required)
5. http://en.omriyadat.com/american-athletics/elaine-thompson-diamond-league-athletics
6. "Glasgow 2014 - Elaine Thompson Profile". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
7. Walker, Howard (27 June 2015). "MVP's masterstroke?". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
8. Walker, Howard (12 April 2015). "UTech's Thompson blazes 10.92sec for 100m to outshine Bolt, Fraser-Pryce at UTech Classic". The Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
9. Sully, Kevin (31 May 2015). "Eugene: Barshim soars, sprinters fly". IAAF. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
10. Elaine Thompson Wins Women's 100m | Brussels Diamond league. Retrieved on 2016-09-10.
11. Walker, Howard (25 June 2015). "Elaine Thompson withdraws from 100m at National Senior Champs". The Jamaica Observer. Archived from the original on 14 August 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
12. Lowe, Andre (27 June 2015). "National Trials: Francis defends decision to run Thompson in 200m". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
13. Higgins, Orville (3 July 2015). "Lay off Stephen Francis". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
14. Lowe, Andre (29 June 2015). "Birthday win for Thompson". Jamaica Gleaner. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
15. "Londres: La Jamaïcaine Elaine Thompson domine le 200m". L'Équipe (in French). 25 July 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
16. http://en.omriyadat.com/american-athletics/elaine-thompson-jamaica-sprint-diamond-league
17. Brown, Matthew (25 July 2015). "National 100m records for Schippers and Asher-Smith in London – IAAF Diamond League". IAAF. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
18. Boylan-Pett, Liam (17 August 2016). "Rio 2016: Elaine Thompson wins gold medal in women's 200m run". SB Nation. Retrieved 18 August 2016.
19. "ATHLETE PROFILE Elaine THOMPSON". World Athletics. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
20. Pantorno, Joe (17 August 2016). "Olympic Track and Field 2016: Women's 200M Medal Winners, Times and Results". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
21. "200 Metres Women - Round 1" (PDF). IAAF. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
22. "Thompson Shines Indoor". The Gleaner. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
23. "Head over heels". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 6 November 2019.

External links

• Elaine Thompson at World Athletics