Unknown Jamaican sprint ‘demon’ – Kishane Thompson is disenchanted for losing the Paris 2024 Olympic Games men’s 100m gold to Noah Lyles of the US.
The MVP Track Club sprinter [Thompson] who made his Diamond League debut in Monaco, France only on July 21, 2023 became the poster boy going into the Paris Olympics having coasted a world lead 9.77 seconds to win the 2024 Jamaican Trials ahead of Oblique Seville.
Coached by the legendary Stephen Francis, the 23-year-old Thompson announced himself to the world on Saturday August 3, winning heat 1 of the men’s 100m in 10.00 seconds.
He then went on to send a clear message to the rest of the frontrunners ahead of the finals having won the semi-final 3 in 9.80 seconds, ahead of Fred Kerley [9.84], and Benjamin Richardson [9.95] of South Africa.
Having produced such a sterling performance in the semis, the world was waiting with bated breath to see what the young Jamaican had in his highly built biceps for the final at the iconic Stade de France, but in the final analysis, however, it had to take images from Omega – the official provider of photo finish images at the 2024 Paris Olympics to actually decide the winner of the men’s 100-meter sprint.
The image shows Lyles extending his body forward, with his torso — namely, his shoulder and clavicle — crossing the line before anyone else’s.
Like a bullet from a rifle, Kishane Thompson took off from the blocks in style and led from 40 metres, but as usual of the American sprinter, Lyles lunged forward to just beat out Kishane Thompson on the line, with a margin of five one thousandths of a second having both crossed the line in 9.79 seconds.
Obviously not happy with the outcome of the results, Thompson shared his frustration in a post race interview:
“I’m going to be disappointed, but I’m super happy and grateful at the same time,” Thompson said. “I just got to take it as what it is and just move forward from here.
“I wasn’t patient enough with my speed myself.”
Noah Lyles became the first sprinter from the US to win an Olympic gold in the last twenty years after Justin Gatlin in Athens 2004 whereas Thompson became the first Jamaican to win a medal in the 100m dash post Usain Bolt era.
By James K. Attaglo Wilson