In Kingston, Jamaica on June 29, 2024, at 01:43 PM ET, the newest 100-meter national champion showcased an impressive victory with a message claiming he slowed down 60 meters into the race, yet managed to run the fastest time in the world in two years. Kishane Thompson won the Jamaica 100-meter national championship in 9.77 seconds on Friday night, positioning himself as a potential Olympic champion alongside his country’s greatest sprinter, Usain Bolt, next month.
After his victory, the 22-year-old Thompson revealed that his coach had advised him to only run the first 60 meters of the race and then shut it down. His goal was simply to run a 70 or 60 and assess his performance. Despite this being his first appearance of the year, Thompson managed to impress by winning the championship event. He explained that if he had finished second or third, he would still secure a place on the team.
Thompson confessed that this was his first time running rounds, and after posting a time of 9.82 in his opening heat the previous night, he was kept up late with doping control officers. He outpaced Oblique Seville, a semifinalist at the Tokyo Olympics who had a victory over Noah Lyles earlier in the year, with his impressive time of 9.77 seconds, the fastest since Fred Kerley’s 9.76 seconds win at the 2022 world championships.
As the fourth-fastest Jamaican in history after Bolt, Yohan Blake, and Asafa Powell, Thompson expressed confidence in his abilities but admitted he was unsure of his full potential. Despite his remarkable results, he remains uncertain about how fast he can go but was not surprised by his performance that night, with Bolt’s 9.58-second world record still standing since 2009.