by Keka Araújo

August 1, 2021

Jamaica Celebrates Elaine Thompson-Herah’s Historic Olympic Record and Gold Medal

On Saturday, Jamaican track star, Elaine Thompson-Herah, did the unthinkable at the Tokyo Olympics. The 29-year-old athlete won a gold medal and broke a 33-year-old Olympic record– all at the same damn time. 

According to ESPN, Thompson-Herah ran her fastest 100 meters ever in an astounding 10.61 seconds. She beat the late, great Florence Griffith-Joyner’s Olympic record set at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul by .01 seconds. 

Thompson-Herah also defeated her biggest rival, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, by .13 seconds. 

The irony of her victory is she was unsure if she had broken the three-decades-long record– but she knew she had won the race.

“I knew that I won,” she said.

“The pointing, I don’t know what it means. To show that I was clear,” Thompson-Herah expressed to ESPN.

Her win, along with her two teammates Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jenkins’ wins, cemented Jamaica’s gold, silver and bronze medals for the race.

ESPN reported Jamaican’s last medal sweep was the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The champion also posted a tweet celebrating her victory.

“Just a lil girl from BANANA GROUND who liked to run. Believe In your dreams work hard and have faith in God…ETH,” she wrote.

 

Jamaicans, on the internet, went up for Thompson-Herah’s historic win, as well as her fellow countrywomen.

 

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Congratulations to the ladies of Jamaica!


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