Thompson seeking Brussels redemption after London flop
BRUSSELS: Elaine Thompson will bid to salvage her season when she races a potentially lucrative season- ending 100 metres in Brussels on Friday after flopping in the world championships.
A last outing over the blue riband event, with US$ 50,000 ( 43,000 euros) on offer to the winner as prize money, would be a perfect tonic to take back to Jamaica.
Thompson was one of the big favourites in the worlds in London earlier this month.
Coming in as double Olympic sprint gold medallist, the Jamaican failed to reciprocate her Rio form or even that of the 2015 worlds in Beijing when she won a silver.
“Sometimes in track and field, just like in life, things don’t work out like you want them to,” said Thompson, who finished a lowly fifth place in the 100m in London.
“It’s been a funny season, but I’m healthy and will not let the disappointment of missing a medal in London stop my career.
“I was doing everything I was supposed to be doing. I can’t explain what happened at the world championships, but I will sit with my coach and watch the race.
“I am a brave person. What happened in London will push me to work harder.”
Thompson acknowledged that her Jamaican teammate Usain Bolt, who has hung up his spikes after a glittering career, was an “inspiration”.
“He’s done so much for our country. But he didn’t win his first world championships either!” she said.
Bolt bowed out in London with a bronze in the 100m, while the Jamaican women’s team won bronze in the 4x100m relay.
But the meagre medal haul does not worry Thompson.
“Jamaica is still a sprint nation! Come on, we have a lot of good athletes, we will continue to dominate,” she said.
“I’m only 25, I have a long career ahead of me.
“I want to follow in Usain’s footsteps.”
There will also be a degree of redemption on the cards for Olympic 400m gold medallist Shaunae Mi l ler- Uibo of the Bahamas.
In the world championships in London she won bronze in the 200m but tied up badly and only finished fourth in the 400m as she went for an ambitious double.
The 23-year- old will race the one-lap race in Brussels, as the winners in 16 Diamond League events are determined, the first 16 having been decided in Zurich last week.
Miller- Uibo won the 200m in Zurich, so stands to pocket $100,000 should she win on Friday.
In the field, American triple jumper Christian Taylor will bid to break Jonathan Edwards’ meet record of 17.60 metres.
In London, Taylor, twice Olympic gold medallist and three times world champion, fell well short of Edwards’ world record, set back in 1995. — AFP