No Thompson-Herah for the Olympic Games in Paris

Olympic double sprint champion Elaine Thompson-Herah has ruled herself out of the Paris Olympic Games and will be unable to defend her title. Thompson-Herah’s management team, Andisportsmanagement, made the announcement in a release on Wednesday.

Thompson-Herah, who clinched gold in both the 100m and 200m at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics sustained the injury at the USATF New York City Grand Prix on June 9.

It’s never fun sharing news like this

But at the New York Grand Prix I felt something in the race and still insist to push, couple steps to the line I realize something is really wrong. I sat on the ground because I couldn’t apply any pressure to the leg whatsoever as I was carried off the track. I went quickly to get some medical check up and to found out that I have a small tear on my Achilles tendon. Funny enough I got back home with a strong mindset to keep pushing and prepare for my national trails another shot of my third Olympics but the leg wouldn’t allow me to.

It’s a long road but I am willing to start over and keep working and to make full recovery and resume my track career. I am hurt and devastated to be missing the Olympic this year but at the end of the day it’s sports and my health comes first

Not the birthday gift I was hoping for but God whatever you have in store for me I will wait and I will still continue to work towards my goals that I haven’t achieved yet. I will be definitely watching hopefully from the stands and cheer my country Jamaica on.

I WILL BE BACK .

FASTELAINE

Elaine Thompson Herah

Thompson-Herah and Usain Bolt are the only sprinters to have secured two Olympic titles each in both the 100m and 200m events.

Thompson-Herah is the second-fastest woman in history in the 100m, having recorded a time of 10.54 seconds at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic, less than a month after setting an Olympic record of 10.61 seconds in Tokyo. The American Florence Griffith-Joyner holds the world record of 10.49 seconds, set in 1988.

Additionally, Thompson-Herah is the third-fastest woman ever in the 200m, with a personal-best time of 21.53 seconds, which she achieved to win the Tokyo Olympic title.

In 2023, Thompson-Herah competed exclusively in the 100m at the Jamaican Championships, where she placed fifth. She subsequently ran a time of 10.79 seconds at the Pre Classic, concluding 2024 as the world’s fifth-fastest woman for the year.

The Jamaican trials are anticipated to feature Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the 100m champion from the 2008 and 2012 Olympics, and Shericka Jackson, the two-time reigning world 200m champion.

Her absence from the world’s premier sporting event leaves a notable void in the women’s sprinting competitions, and fans around the globe will undoubtedly miss her electrifying presence.