Olympics Update: Elaine Thompson-Herah Once Again Takes Gold Home

BuzzAugust 7, 2021

When you create history once, people can call it luck, but when you do it twice, they have to applaud your talent. Seems that’s what happened in the case of Elaine Thompson-Herah.

David Ramos/Getty Images | Elaine Thompson-Herah won gold for the second time in 100m racing at the Olympics

The Jamaican sprinter won her first Olympic gold in 2016, but despite her genuine effort and talent, many called it sheer luck. Now when she’s done it again in the 2020 Summer Olympics, she’s silenced the wagging tongues and commanded the respect only genuine winners deserve.

Elaine Thompson-Herah has once again proved that hard work never goes in vain. The 29-year old emerged victorious in this year’s Olympics 100m race by defeating Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, another Jamaican racer. She not only finished first, but also equaled the record once held by sprinter Florence Griffith-Joyner.

Here’s a quick look at her extraordinary performance.

202o Tokyo Olympics 100m format

At the Olympics, 100-meter races are held in the beginning so that racers can participate in other categories too. There are usually four rounds of competition: heats, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals. This year, the rounds were held from July 30 to August 1, 2021.

In each heat, eight participants were tested, and the top three were selected for the quarter-finals. Along with them, the fastest-nonqualifier was also sent to the next round. Later, the same process was followed for selecting the semi-finalist and finalists, and the eight worthiest runners were tested in the finals.

Kyle Dias/Unsplash | This year, the heats, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals for 100m races were held from July 30 to August 1, 2021

History repeats itself

On August 1, 2021, Thompson-Herah ran the race of her life and won her second gold in the 100m category. Before the race, while standing near the starting line, she looked quite confident. But no one anticipated that this confidence would help her win the race, let alone break an Olympic record.

In the first few meters, she kept close to her competitors, but in the last 30 meters, she gave it her all and finished the race in 10.61 seconds. BTW, have you noticed how so many top racers use this slow-before-superfast-later strategy?

Her teammates Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson also completed the race in 10.74 and 10.76 seconds respectively.

Javier SORIANO/AFP | Gabrielle Thomas, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Christine Mboma celebrate with their respective national flags

Victory Speech

After breaking the record, when Thompson-Herah spoke to a reporter, she revealed that she’d been suffering from a back injury, and dealing with negative comments on the side. But despite all issues, she never allowed her problems to come in the way of her goal.

She has worked hard and was very proud of what she and her teammates had achieved. On the other hand, Fraser-Pryce, who qualified fastest for the finals, said she stumbled on her third step which is why she couldn’t maintain proper speed. However, she feels good about winning a silver medal and participating in her fourth Olympics game.