Jamaica Observer: TOKYO, Japan, By Paul A Reid – Elaine Thompson-Herah ran an Olympic and National Record 10.61 seconds (-0.6m/s) as she successfully defended her Olympic Games 100m title in a Jamaican sweep of the medals at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday.
Two-time winner Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce was second in 10.74 seconds and Shericka Jackson took the bronze with a new personal record 10.76 seconds as the Jamaicans completed their second-ever sweep at the Olympics after a 1-2-2 finish in Beijing in 2008.
Thompson-Herah broke Florence Joyner’s Olympic record of 10.62 seconds and Fraser-Pryce’s national record 10.63 second set earlier this year.
It was her first medal since she won the double in Rio in 2016 after she was fifth in the World Championships final in London in 2017 and fourth in the finals in Doha in 2019.
Fraser-Pryce got the better start but Thompson-Herah, who had battled injuries for the past two years, took over midway the race and ran away, celebrating with a left hand salute as she crossed the line.
Jackson, who had won bronze medal in the 400m in Rio, moved up a spot on the all time Jamaican women’s 100m list, joining world and Olympic champion Veronica Campbell Brown in fifth place.
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Top Feature Photo: Elaine Thompson-Herah, of Jamaica, wins the women’s 100-meter final at the Olympics, on Saturday in Tokyo.Martin Meissner/AP
