Elaine Thompson-Herah facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Elaine Thompson-Herah

Thompson-Herah in 2015
Personal information
Born	(1992-06-28) 28 June 1992 (age 32) Manchester, Jamaica
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Weight	56 kg (123 lb)
Sport
Country	Jamaica
Sport	Track and Field
Event(s)	60m, 100m, 200m
College team	UTech
Club	Elite Performance Track Club (2023-present) New Era Track Club (2022–2023), MVP Track Club (2012–2021)
Coached by	Reynaldo Walcott (2023-present) Shanike Osbourne (2023) Derron Herah (who is also her husband) (2021–2023) Stephen Francis (2012–2021)
Achievements and titles
World finals	2015 200 m, 2 Silver 4x100 m, 1 Gold 2017 100 m, 5th 2019 100 m, 4th 2022 100 m, 3 Bronze 200 m, 7th 4x100 m, 2 Silver
Olympic finals	2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m, 1 Gold 200 m, 1 Gold 4x100 m, 2 Silver 2020 Tokyo 100 m, 1 Gold 200 m, 1 Gold 4x100 m, 1 Gold
Personal best(s)	60 m: 7.02 NR (Kingston 2017) 100 m: 10.54 NR (Eugene 2021) 200 m: 21.53 (Tokyo 2021) Indoors 60 m: 6.98i (Birmingham 2017)
Medal record Women's athletics Representing  Jamaica Olympic Games Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro 100 m Gold 2016 Rio de Janeiro 200 m Gold 2020 Tokyo 100 m Gold 2020 Tokyo 200 m Gold 2020 Tokyo 4×100 m relay Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro 4×100 m relay World Championships Gold 2015 Beijing 4×100 m relay Silver 2015 Beijing 200 m Silver 2022 Eugene 4×100 m relay Silver 2023 Budapest 4×100 m relay Bronze 2022 Eugene 100 m World Indoor Championships Bronze 2016 Portland 60 m Diamond League 2016 100 m 2017 100 m 2021 100 m World Athletics Relays Gold 2017 Nassau 4×200 m relay Bronze 2019 Yokohama 4×200 m relay Commonwealth Games Gold 2014 Glasgow 4×100 m relay Gold 2022 Birmingham 100 m Gold 2022 Birmingham 200 m Silver 2018 Gold Coast 4×100 m relay Silver 2022 Birmingham 4×100 m relay Pan American Games Gold 2019 Lima 100 m CAC Championships Gold 2013 Morelia 4×100 m relay

Elaine Thompson-Herah is a super fast Jamaican runner. She is known as one of the greatest sprinters of all time! She runs in races like the 60 metres, 100 metres, and 200 metres.

Elaine has won five Olympic gold medals. She is the fastest woman alive in the 100 m race. She is also the third fastest ever in the 200 m race.

She made history by winning both the 100 m and 200 m races at two Olympics in a row. She did this at the 2016 Rio Olympics and again at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. Only Usain Bolt has done this before her in men's sprinting.

Elaine first became famous at the 2015 World Athletics Championships. There, she won a silver medal in the 200 m. At the Rio Olympics, she was the first woman since 1988 to win both the 100 m and 200 m Olympic golds.

After Rio, she had an Achilles tendon injury. This made it hard for her to perform her best in 2017 and 2019. But she came back strong at the Tokyo Olympics. She won the 100 m with a new Olympic record time. She also won the 200 m with her fastest time ever. She then won a third gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay. This made her only the third sprinter to win three Olympic sprint golds.

In 2021, she ran the 100 m in an amazing 10.54 s. This is the second fastest time ever for a woman! She was named the best female athlete of the year by many sports groups.

Early Life and Training

Elaine Thompson-Herah was born on June 28, 1992, in Banana Ground, Manchester Parish, Jamaica. When she was in high school, she was a good runner. But she wasn't yet a superstar.

After high school, she joined the University of Technology, Jamaica. There, she was coached by Paul Francis. His brother, Stephen Francis, was the head coach at MVP Track Club. With their help, her running times got much better.

In 2013, she won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the Central American and Caribbean Championships. She helped the Jamaican team win with a time of 43.58 seconds.

In 2014, she won her first college title. She also helped Jamaica win gold in the 4 × 100 metres relay at the Commonwealth Games.

Becoming a World-Class Sprinter

Breakthrough in 2015

Elaine really started to shine in 2015. She ran the 100 m in under 11 seconds for the first time. This was a very fast time for the world that year.

Her coach decided she should focus on the 200 m race for the 2015 World Athletics Championships in Beijing. She won the Jamaican 200 m title.

At the World Championships, she won a silver medal in the 200 m. She finished very close behind Dafne Schippers. Elaine's time of 21.66 seconds was faster than the old championship record! She also won a gold medal in the 4 × 100 m relay with her Jamaican teammates.

Double Olympic Champion in 2016

Thompson (L) at the 2016 Rio Olympics with Gina Lückenkemper and Marie-Josée Ta Lou (R).

In 2016, Elaine started her season by winning a bronze medal in the 60 m race. This was at the World Indoor Championships.

Then came the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Elaine won the gold medal in the 100 m race. Her time was 10.71 seconds. She beat other great sprinters like Tori Bowie and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

She then won her second gold medal in the 200 m race. Her time was 21.78 seconds. This made her the first Jamaican woman to win both the 100 m and 200 m at one Olympics! She also won a silver medal with the Jamaican 4 × 100 m relay team. She left Rio with three Olympic medals.

That year, she also won her first Diamond League title in the 100 m.

Challenges and Comebacks (2017-2019)

In 2017, Elaine ran her fastest 60 m race ever indoors, with a time of 6.98 seconds. She also won a gold medal in the 4 × 200 metres relay at the World Relays.

However, she started having problems with her Achilles Tendon injury. This made training and racing difficult. At the 2017 World Athletics Championships in London, she finished fifth in the 100 m. Despite this, she still won the Diamond League 100 m title again.

In 2018, she finished fourth in the 60 m at the World Indoor Championships. At the Commonwealth Games, she got a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay.

In 2019, she won a bronze medal in the 4 × 200 m relay at the World Relays. She also won a gold medal in the 100 m at the Pan American Games. At the 2019 World Athletics Championships, she finished fourth in the 100 m. Her Achilles injury kept her from running the 200 m final.

Triple Olympic Champion in 2020 (held in 2021)

In 2020, Elaine ran very well in several 100 m races. Her best time was 10.85 seconds.

At the Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), Elaine was amazing! She won the gold medal in the women's 100 m final. She set a new Olympic record of 10.61 seconds. This was the second-fastest time ever for a woman! She ran at a top speed of 39.7 km/h, which is the fastest speed ever for a female sprinter.

Then, she won her second gold medal in the 200 m race. She set a new personal best time of 21.53 seconds. This was the second-fastest time in history!

Finally, she won a third gold medal with the Jamaican 4 × 100 m relay team. They set a new national record. Elaine became a triple Olympic champion!

After the Olympics, she ran even faster. At a race in Eugene, she ran the 100 m in 10.54 seconds. This is still the second-fastest time ever. She also won her third Diamond League title. For her incredible year, she was named the World Female Athlete of the Year.

Recent Achievements (2022-2024)

In 2022, Elaine continued to show her speed. She won races in the Diamond League. At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, she won a bronze medal in the 100 m. She also got a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay.

She then won two gold medals at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in both the 100 m and 200 m races. Her 200 m time of 22.02 seconds was a new Commonwealth Games record! She also won a silver medal in the 4 × 100 m relay.

Sadly, in 2024, Elaine suffered another Achilles injury. This means she will miss the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Personal Life

Elaine is married to Derron Herah, who used to be a sprinter and is also a coach.

Achievements

Thompson celebrates her 100 m victory at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Fastest Times (Personal Bests)

Here are Elaine Thompson-Herah's best times in different races:

International Medals

Elaine Thompson (L) with her silver for the 200 m at the 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing, with Dafne Schippers and Veronica Campbell-Brown (R).

Thompson at the Brussels Memorial Van Damme in 2017

Representing  Jamaica

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Time	Notes
2013	2013 CAC Championships	Morelia, Mexico	1st	4 × 100 m relay	43.58
2014	Commonwealth Games	Glasgow, United Kingdom	1st	4 × 100 m relay	42.44	GR
2015	World Championships	Beijing, China	2nd	200 m	21.66	(+0.2 m/s) PB
			1st	4 × 100 m relay	41.07	WL CR NR
2016	World Indoor Championships	Portland, OR, United States	3rd	60 m	7.06
	Olympic Games	Rio de Janeiro, Brazil	1st	100 m	10.71	(+0.5 m/s)
			1st	200 m	21.78	(+0.5 m/s) WL
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	41.36	SB
2017	World Relays	Nassau, Bahamas	1st	4 × 200 m relay	1:29.04	CR NR
	World Championships	London, United Kingdom	5th	100 m	10.98	(+0.1 m/s)
2018	World Indoor Championships	Birmingham, United Kingdom	4th	60 m	7.08
	Commonwealth Games	Gold Coast, Australia	4th	200 m	22.30	(+0.9 m/s) SB
			2nd	4 × 100 m relay	42.52
2019	World Relays	Yokohama, Japan	3rd	4 × 200 m relay	1:33.21
	Pan American Games	Lima, Peru	1st	100 m	11.18	(-0.6 m/s)
	World Championships	Doha, Qatar	4th	100 m	10.93	(+0.1 m/s)
			7th (heats)	200 m	22.61	(+0.7 m/s) Q
2021	Olympic Games	Tokyo, Japan	1st	100 m	10.61	(-0.6 m/s) WL OR NR
			1st	200 m	21.53	(+0.8 m/s) WL NR, 2nd all time
			1st	4 × 100 m relay	41.02	NR
2022	World Championships	Eugene, OR, United States	3rd	100 m	10.81	(+0.8 m/s)
			7th	200 m	22.39	(+0.6 m/s)
			2nd	4 x 100 m relay	41.18	SB
	Commonwealth Games	Birmingham, United Kingdom	1st	100 m	10.95	(+0.4 m/s)
			1st	200 m	22.02	(+0.6 m/s) GR
			2nd	4 x 100 m relay	43.08
2023	World Championships	Budapest, Hungary	2nd (h)	4 × 100 m relay	41.70

Major Wins and Titles

• Diamond League 100 m Winner:
  • 2016
  • 2017
  • 2021
• Jamaican National Champion:
  • 100 metres: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019
  • 200 metres: 2015, 2019

See also

• List of Olympic medalists in athletics (women)
• List of World Athletics Championships medalists (women)
• 100 metres
• 200 metres