Thompson-Herah claims surprise Kingston win after Birmingham no-show

Elaine Thompson-Herah

Elaine Thompson-Herah from Jamaica crosses the finish line of the 100m women final at the Diamond League track and field meeting in Eugene on August 21, 2021.

Photo credit: Andy Nelson | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Thompson-Herah's surprise appearance however was upstaged by a dazzling performance from 21-year-old men's sprinter Oblique Seville.
  • Seville became the sixth fastest Jamaican man ever over the 100m after he ran a wind-legal personal best 9.86sec to win the men's event.
  • Seville, who is coached Usain Bolt's former coach Glen Mills, had run 10.00sec two weeks ago. Among Jamaican sprinters, only Bolt (9.58sec), Yohan Blake (9.69), Asafa Powell (9.72), Nesta Carter (9.78) and Steve Mullings (9.80) have run faster than Seville.

Kingston, Jamaica

Olympic sprint queen Elaine Thompson-Herah bagged a surprise 100m victory at a meeting in Kingston on Saturday, two days after scratching from this weekend's Birmingham Diamond League meeting with a shoulder injury.

Thompson-Herah, the 2016 and 2020 Olympic champion over 100m and 200m, blitzed the field at the JAAA Jubilee series meeting at the national stadium in Kingston to coast home in 10.94sec.

She had clocked 11.35sec in the heats earlier Saturday, and also found time to clock 22.55sec in the meeting's 200m race.

On Thursday, Thompson-Herah had withdrawn from Saturday's Diamond League meeting in Britain, with a statement saying she decided not to travel "out of an abundance of caution after she experienced some discomfort in training."

Thompson-Herah told journalists on Saturday she had been troubled by a sore rotator cuff and was concerned the condition may be aggravated by a long-haul flight to Britain.

"We all face our challenges and I am not 100 percent fit and I think it was the best decision not to travel," she said.

"We decided to test it here and it felt better than it did a few days ago."

"I am happy for the 10.94 seconds, I will just continue to work on my weak areas."

Thompson-Herah's surprise appearance however was upstaged by a dazzling performance from 21-year-old men's sprinter Oblique Seville.

Seville became the sixth fastest Jamaican man ever over the 100m after he ran a wind-legal personal best 9.86sec to win the men's event.

Seville, who is coached Usain Bolt's former coach Glen Mills, had run 10.00sec two weeks ago. Among Jamaican sprinters, only Bolt (9.58sec), Yohan Blake (9.69), Asafa Powell (9.72), Nesta Carter (9.78) and Steve Mullings (9.80) have run faster than Seville.