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Elaine Thompson Will Only Race 200 Meters at Commonwealth GamesPublished by
After winning Olympic gold medals in both sprints, Jamaican star chooses to focus on one event in Australia By Erik Boal, DyeStat Editor Elaine Thompson won her 100-meter heat Wednesday at the Queensland International Track Classic in Brisbane, but the double Olympic sprinting gold medalist from Jamaica confirmed she would be focusing only on the 200 meters April 10-12 at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia. Thompson ran 11.72 seconds into a -1.7 mps headwind, well behind the 11.31 produced by British star Dina Asher-Smith to win the other heat. Since her two victories in 10.71 and 21.78 at the 2016 Olympics, Thompson hasn’t run faster in either event. She placed fifth in the 100 in 10.98 at last year’s IAAF World Outdoor Championships in London and finished fourth March 2 in the 60-meter final in 7.08 at the World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, U.K. Thompson hasn’t raced the 200 since August, when she clocked 22.00 at the Weltklasse Zurich Diamond League meeting to place second behind Bahamian star Shaunae Miller-Uibo in 21.88. Nigeria’s Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor swept the 100 and 200 titles at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Sherone Simpson was the last Jamaican female athlete to win the 200 at the Commonwealth Games in 2006. More news |