Thompson-Herah leads Jamaica sweep, retains Olympic 100m crown

JAMAICA swept the women’s 100-metre final for the second time in their history. On this occasion it was Elaine Thompson-Herah who was a class above the rest as she retained her Olympic crown in a new Games record of 10.61 seconds.

Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, running at her fourth Olympic Games, had to settle for second spot in 10.74.

Shericka Jackson, the 2016 Rio Games 400-metre bronze medallist, ensured it was 1-2-3 for Jamaica as she ran a personal best of 10.76 to grab bronze.

Fraser-Pryce had the best start, but after 60m Thompson-Herah took the lead and separated herself from the field. Thompson-Herah started celebrating before she crossed the finish line pointing to the clock. In the process, Thompson-Herah bettered the previous Olympic women's 100m standard of 10.62 set by American Florence Griffith-Joyner at the 1988 Games in Seoul, South Korea.

Marie-Josee Ta Lou of Ivory Coast finished fourth in 10.91, followed by the Swiss pair of Ajla Del Ponte (10.97) and Mujinga Kambundji (10.99).

American Teahna Daniels had to settle for seventh place in 11.02 and Daryll Neita of Great Britain was eighth in 11.12.

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, Fraser-Pryce was also part of a Jamaican trio that took the top three places in the women’s 100m final.

On that memorable night Fraser-Pryce won gold in 10.78. Sherone Simpson and Kerron Stewart tied for the silver medal in 10.98.