Elaine Thompson-Herah wins back-to-back Olympic 100m gold in Jamaican clean sweep

Elaine Thompson-Herah confirmed her status as the 100m queen winning her second consecutive Olympic gold medal in a Jamaican sweep of the podium at the Tokyo Olympic Stadium.

The Jamaican sprint queen did it in style, beating a quality field – including two-time Olympic champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce – racing to victory in an Olympic record time of 10.61 seconds.

Fraser-Pryce had to be content with the silver medal clocking 10.74, becoming the most decorated female 100m athlete at the Olympic Games, adding to the three from Beijing 2008, London 2012, and Rio 2016. Shericka Jackson rounded off the podium finishing third with 10.76 for the Jamaican sweep.

The Jamaican women confirmed their status as sprinting powerhouses with their second sweep of the podium since the first time they did it at Beijing 2008.

Olympic record

The night belonged to Thompson-Herah, who produced the fireworks, and then some, managing to reel in Fraser-Pryce after a blistering start. The world’s two fastest women were neck-and-neck halfway through the race, with Thompson-Herah’s top-end speed proving too much for her compatriot.

Thompson-Herah underscored her class breaking late American icon Florence Griffith Joyner’s 33-year-old Olympic record of 10.62 that she set in Seoul 1988. The time also launched her into second place on the world all-time list behind Griffith Joyner.

The 29-year-old Thompson-Herah, who has not stepped onto a podium at a major championship since Rio 2016, produced the goods when it mattered against a stacked field. The stage was set for a fast race with four of the women on the starting line clocking sub-10.80 seconds times in the semi-finals.

Thompson-Herah celebrated before crossing the line, pointing with her left arm, which sparked questions over whether she could have gone faster.

"I didn't see the time, but the pointing was just, I knew I had won, so I don't know what it means other than to show I was clear (of the field)," Thompson-Herah said.

"I could have gone faster if I wasn't pointing and celebrating early. But that shows there is more in store, so hopefully, one day, I can unleash that time,"

"I believe in myself but I didn't expect to run this fast, even though I felt great during the rounds. There was a lot of nerves but I said to myself, 'you can do this, you've been here before, just execute it'."