Kishane Thompson of the Jamaica in action during the third Semifinal of the Men's 100m at the Olympic Games in the Stade de France, Paris, France, on August 4th, 2024.
Kishane Thompson ran a 9.75s personal best at the Jamaican National championships in Kingston to move up to sixth on the all-time men’s 100m list, as Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce qualified for her ninth World Championships.
Only Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, Yohan Blake, Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin have run a faster wind-legal 100m than Thompson, whose performance is the fastest men’s 100m for over a decade — since Gatlin ran 9.74s once and 9.75s twice in the summer of 2015.
The 23-year old won the silver medal in last summer’s 100m Olympic final in Paris, edged out on the line by USA’s Noah Lyles — who beat Thompson by five-thousandths of a second (9.784 to 9.789).
It makes it two years running than Thompson has won the Jamaican title, the first time a Jamaican man has defended their national 100m title since Blake in 2017. Thompson’s time was the fastest at a national championships since Blake also ran 9.75s in 2012.
He beat Oblique Seville (9.83s) and Ackeem Blake (9.88s), with the trio all qualifying for the World Championships in Tokyo this September.
At the same championships, Tina Clayton won her first national title in 10.81s ahead of Shericka Jackson (10.88s) and Fraser-Pryce (10.91s).
All three will also go to Tokyo, which makes it the 13th team for Fraser-Pryce at a World Championships or Olympics.
The 38-year-old, a double Olympic and six-time World Championship in the individual sprint disciplines, was the first Caribbean woman to win 100m Olympic gold back in 2008 in Beijing.
“I’m grateful to be able to be here tonight, finishing healthy, and to be on the team to Tokyo,” she said.
“It (her career) has been a journey, and for Jamaica, we have so many athletes that can represent this country. I tried not to be too emotional and focus on my race.
“There’s a lot to work on, especially when it comes to race sharpness. I haven’t been racing much. It’s a long season. The first step, the first hurdle, has been cleared.”
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