Tokyo Olympics: Elaine Thompson-Herah breaks Griffith Joyner's 33-year-old record
Elaine Thompson-Herah, on Saturday, broke the 33-year-old record of Florence Griffith Joyner in the women's 100 meters at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. She crossed the finishing line to defend her title in a record 10.61 seconds, leading the Jamaican sweep of medals. Notably, Griffith Joyner held the previous record of 10.62 seconds at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Here are further details.
Thompson-Herah beat her arch-rival, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, by 0.13 seconds. Meanwhile, Shericka Jackson won bronze in 10.76 seconds. Thompson-Herah scripted history by breaking the long-standing record of Griffith Joyner. Notably, no Olympic champion had broken 10.7 since the latter.
This was the first Jamaican sweep of medals since the women achieved the feat at the 2008 Beijing Games. The feat was rather overshadowed in that edition, with Usain Bolt staging a record-setting performance. Notably, Fraser-Pryce finished on top in 2008 among women. She now has two gold medals (2008, 2012), a silver (2020), and a bronze (2016).
Thompson-Herah glanced at the clock as she approached the line. She started celebrating even before she reached, replicating what Bolt did in 2008. The latter started celebrating with 10 meters to go when he ran 9.69 seconds to set the men's world record in 2008. "I think I could have gone faster if I wasn't pointing and celebrating, really," Thompson-Herah said.
Fraser-Pryce and Thompson-Herah could have a possible rematch in the 200 meters, where the latter is also the defending champion. In June, Fraser-Pryce registered the fourth-fastest time in history at 10.63 seconds.
Jamaican track and field sprinter, Thompson-Herah, specializes in the 100m and 200m. She completed a sprint double in the Rio 2016 Olympics, having winning gold medals in both events. Her time of 10.61s in 100m (Tokyo 2020 Olympics) is now the second-fastest in women's history. Griffith Joyner remains the only woman to have broken 10.6 when she recorded 10.49s in 1988.
