TOKYO — As she approached the finish line, and it was clear to Elaine Thompson-Herah that she would win her second consecutive gold medal in the women’s 100 meters, the Jamaican sprinter glanced toward the infield and pointed to a camera. She started to scream, because adrenaline had overtaken her body.
When she finally crossed the line, the massive video board above her at an empty National Stadium flashed her time with a stunning punctuation: 10.61. Olympic record.
Thompson-Herah collapsed on her back and nearly started to cry on the red track, both because she had just run the second-fastest time in the event’s history — she broke the 33-year-old Olympic record of Florence Griffith Joyner, who still owns the world record at 10.49 — and because of the crucible she endured to do it.
“This 10.6, it takes a lot,” she said. “I think I celebrated early, too much.”
She was competing against the deepest, fastest field in the event’s history after dealing with a lingering Achilles’ injury this year — and she was doing it in a Tokyo head wind on Saturday night.
After being asked all week about the absence of Sha’Carri Richardson, the American sensation who was ruled out of the Games after testing positive for marijuana, Thompson-Herah shrugged aside that distraction to join Griffith Joyner, widely considered the best sprinter ever, in the record books. She did so by holding off two countrywomen: Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who won silver in 10.74, and Shericka Jackson, who took bronze in 10.76 to give Jamaica a medal sweep.
The only thing Thompson-Herah questioned after her historic performance is what might have had happened had she not celebrated early, had she instead run full-bore through the line. That she pulled up made her Olympic record all the more remarkable, but could she have challenged Griffith Joyner’s world record had she not done so?
“Most definitely, if I wasn’t celebrating,” she said, before being asked if she regretted doing it.
“No, no, no,” she said. “Patience. Time.”
In time, the 29-year-old Thompson-Herah could surely join the conversation as one of the best sprinters in her sport’s history. Saturday night, she and her teammates cemented a new dynasty in sprinting’s post-Usain Bolt era.
Only Bolt has won three gold medals in the 100 meters. Fraser-Pryce was trying to join him — she won gold in Beijing in 2008 and London in 2012 before taking bronze behind Thompson-Herah in Rio — and it looked as though she just might do so, taking the lead into the final 30 meters.
But Thompson-Herah found another gear and left her and Jackson behind, as well as Marie-Josee Ta Lou, the Ivory Coast sprinter who finished fourth for the second consecutive Olympics. She was crying as she left the stadium, as the Jamaican sprinters celebrated in front of a small delegation in a corner of the stadium.
Bolt’s departure left a vacuum for track and field at the Olympics. Thompson-Herah, who could equal Bolt’s accomplishment should she win the 100 meters in Paris in 2024, helped fill it Saturday night.
“The legacy we have in Jamaica is incredible,” said Fraser-Pryce, who had a stumble on her third step before recovering for silver. She expected her country to be reveling in the sweep. “I’m hoping they’re not defying the curfew . . . but I’m sure it’s going to be remarkable. To be able to have three of our ladies standing on the podium, like we had in 2008 — I’m hoping they’re celebrating.”
Fraser-Pryce had dealt with a lingering toe injury before the 2016 Games, watching Thompson-Herah, her training partner, solidify herself in international races and then win gold in Rio. Fraser-Pryce settled for bronze, and the following year, announced she was pregnant. After she gave birth to her son by emergency C-section, some wondered if her career was over.
But Fraser-Pryce quickly returned to training — and has said that motherhood gave her new perspective on her career. She continued to chase Thompson Herah and other sprinting stalwarts, including Dina Asher-Smith and Ta Lou, and finally broke through in 2019 when she won her fourth world title with a time of 10.71, at age 32.
Earlier, the United States wound up behind gold medal-winning Poland and runner-up Dominican Republic as the mixed relay made its Olympic debut.
From start of the event to the finish, it was a wild ride for the Americans.
“We had to keep the faith,” anchor leg Vernon Norwood said. “We all feel kind of satisfied, walking away having a chance to compete. That was the thing we were looking forward to most. We ended up getting our joy back and ended up with some hardware.”
The US team was disqualified for a bad exchange in the opening round Friday. The Dominican Republic also had been disqualified. Both were reinstated hours after the race.
On Saturday, no one could catch Poland. The team of Karol Zalewski, Natalia Kaczmarek, Justyna Swiety-Ersetic and Kajetan Duszynski won in a time of 3 minutes, 9.87 seconds.
“Such a great feeling,” Duszynski said.
The real race was for second, with Alexander Ogando falling over the line to give the Dominicans the silver by .01 seconds.
There was some thought Allyson Felix might be on the track for the final with a chance to win her record 10th Olympic medal. It will have to wait.
Instead, the Americans went with a young lineup of Trevor Stewart (24 years old), Kendall Ellis (25), Kaylin Whitney (23), and Norwood, the elder statesman at 29.
“Did the best to come away with the bronze,” Norwood said. “Give a lot of credit to the team here and the team that ran before us to give us the opportunity.”
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