Elaine Thompson-Herah, the two-time reigning Olympic 100m and 200m champion, will not be participating in this week’s Jamaican Olympic trials or the Paris Games due to a small tear in her Achilles tendon. The injury occurred at the USATF New York City Grand Prix on June 9. Thompson-Herah expressed her disappointment on social media, stating that she is prioritizing her health and aiming for a full recovery to resume her track career.
Thompson-Herah, along with Usain Bolt, is one of the only sprinters to have won multiple Olympic titles in both the 100m and 200m events. She holds the title as the second-fastest woman in history in the 100m, with an impressive time of 10.54 seconds at the 2021 Prefontaine Classic following her record-breaking 10.61 seconds in Tokyo. The world record of 10.49 seconds is held by American Florence Griffith-Joyner from 1988.
In the 200m event, Thompson-Herah is the third-fastest woman in history, achieving a personal best of 21.53 seconds to win the Tokyo Olympic title. In 2023, she focused on the 100m at the Jamaican Championships and finished in fifth place. She closed out the year with a time of 10.79 seconds at the Pre Classic, ranking her as the fifth-fastest woman in the world for that year.
Despite Thompson-Herah’s absence, the Jamaican trials are expected to feature top athletes like 2008 and 2012 Olympic 100m champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and two-time reigning world 200m champion Shericka Jackson.