How Elaine Thompson-Herah won gold in the women’s 100 meters

TOKYO – Elaine Thompson-Herah won the gold medal in the women’s 100 meters for the second consecutive Olympic Games, edging out Jamaican teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Shericka Jackson won bronze, completing a Jamaican medal sweep – the country’s top three medals at the Games.

Thompson-Herah, 29, set an Olympic record with her time of 10.61 seconds and was 12 hundredths of a second behind the world record set by Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988. Fraser-Pryce, who was leading halfway through the race , has been exceeded. by Thompson-Herah about 60 meters.

After two days of the playoffs, the athletes called the track at the Olympic Stadium fast – “super fast,” as Fraser-Pryce put it. And the women’s 100 final was just that, with Thompson-Herah’s Olympic record and Jackson’s personal best time of 10.76.

Out of the blocks

Fraser-Pryce relied heavily on her start and had to build herself a lead of at least a few yards over Thompson-Herah if she was to win. But Thompson-Herah had one of the best starts of his career and stayed close to Fraser-Pryce during the acceleration phase of the race – up to around 30 yards.

A tight race from the start

Thompson-Herah and Fraser-Pryce begin to separate from the peloton. But Fraser-Pryce must have known that she was already having issues with Thompson-Herah by her side. The initial spread that Fraser-Pryce needed simply did not exist.

Stay stride for stride

Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah appeared to move in sync for much of the middle portion of the run, but ultimately the taller Thompson-Herah would use her longer strides to create and maintain a higher top speed. Longer. At about 60 meters into the race, Thompson-Herah started to overtake Fraser-Pryce.

The Thompson-Herah Gold Medal

Thompson-Herah maintained more speed in the latter part of the race and increased his lead in the final 20 meters. Jackson, the bronze medalist, closed well, almost passing Fraser-Pryce. It was an impressive sprint and finish for Jackson, a 400-meter specialist who doesn’t have the same top speed as the other two medalists. Thompson-Herah stayed tall and loose in the final yards and showed why she is considered a fast close – her long legs carried her well over two meters per stride; longer and faster than Fraser-Pryce.

Four in a row for Jamaica

Thompson-Herah’s victory extends Jamaica’s Olympic reign in the women’s 100-meters to four consecutive gold medals, starting with Fraser-Pryce’s victory at the 2008 Games in Beijing.