A class above the rest over 100m
APART from a disappointing fifth-place finish at the World Athletics Championships in London, Elaine Thompson had an outstanding 2017 track and field season, and barring injuries, she looks set to maintain her status as the fastest woman in the world in 2018.
Thompson, who is among three female athletes nominated for this evening’s RJRGLEANER National Sportswoman of the Year award, outclassed her opponents in the 100 metres all season, even beating them running in her sneakers.
Opting for the more comfortable sneakers rather than the lighter spikes with traction because of an Achilles heel injury she was nursing, the Olympic champion toyed with her opponents in a 100m Diamond race in London, producing a time of 10.94 seconds into a negative wind.
That time came weeks after she ran 10.71, the fastest time of the year in Kingston at the national trials.
She also had the second fastest 100m run of the season, 10.78, a time she produced while the season was in its infancy in May.
And even in the semi-finals of the 100m, in London, where she won convincingly in a time of 10.84, Thompson still looked like the untouchable athlete who was the first woman to win an Olympic sprint double since the late Florence Griffiths-Joyner did so at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games. STILL A MYSTERY
But the final remains a mystery to track and field lovers around the world and even to Thompson, who didn’t have an explanation as to what happened in the race.
Her dominance of the season, though, was confirmed in the races after the championship and her winning the Diamond race in the 100m for the season.
Though this track season is regarded as an off year for many athletes because there is no major world outdoor track and field championships, the former Manchester High School athlete will have something to prove.
It has been confirmed by her training camp that she hopes to compete at the World Indoor Championships in March if selected.
In the last edition, Thompson finished third in the 60 metres in 7.06 seconds and will be looking to send a strong statement to her rivals in what would be her first championships since London. Last year’s winner of the Sportswoman of the Year title is also looking to compete in the Commonwealth Games in Australia in April.