Elaine Thompson-Herah

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Lore & Background

Thompson-Herah is a native of Banana Ground in Manchester Parish, Jamaica. Running for Christiana High School and later Manchester High School, she 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 seconds. In 2011, her final year at Manchester High, she was left off the track team for disciplinary reasons. 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, her times started improving steadily. She made her international breakthrough in 2015, winning silver in the 200 m at the World Championships in Beijing and becoming the fifth-fastest woman in history over the distance. The next year at the Rio Olympics, she became the first woman since Florence Griffith Joyner in 1988 to win 100 m and 200 m gold at the Olympics. After the Rio Olympics, she suffered an Achilles tendon injury, which affected her performance at the 2017 and 2019 World Athletics Championships. However, she returned to the top of athletics at the Tokyo Olympics, retaining her 100 m title in a new Olympic record of 10.61 s, and her 200 m title in a new personal best and national record of 21.53 s. After winning a third gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay, she became the third sprinter after Griffith Joyner and Usain Bolt to complete an Olympic sprinting triple.

Reader's Guide

Elaine Thompson-Herah's significance lies in her historic achievement as the first female sprinter, and the second sprinter after Usain Bolt, to win the sprint double at consecutive Olympics. Her 100 m time of 10.54 s at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic made her the first woman to break the 40 km/h barrier. For her 2021 season, she was voted Laureus Sportswoman of the Year and World Athletics World Female Athlete of the Year. In 2022, retired American sprinter Michael Johnson called Thompson-Herah and her compatriot Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce the two greatest female sprinters of all time. Her legacy is further cemented by her five Olympic gold medals, her status as the fastest woman alive in the 100 m, and her role as one of the most dominant sprinters in the world.

Did You Know?

• Thompson-Herah is the first female sprinter, and the second sprinter after Usain Bolt, to win the sprint double at consecutive Olympics.
• At the 2021 Prefontaine Classic, she became the first woman to break the 40 km/h barrier, running 10.54 s.
• She was left off her high school track team in 2011 for disciplinary reasons.
• At the 2015 World Championships, her silver medal time of 21.66 s was faster than the previous championships record.
• In 2022, retired American sprinter Michael Johnson called Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce the two greatest female sprinters of all time.