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Thompson vs the clock

Published:Wednesday | August 24, 2016 | 12:00 AM
Thompson

Raymond Graham: After her double success in Rio last week, Elaine Thompson looks set for something special in the 100 metres today in Lausanne.

Andre Lowe: Her coach, Stephen Francis, thinks she has a lot of speed left in her this season and says he thinks she can go 10.6 before the end of the season. This is a good opportunity for her to put a strong race together and run against the clock because no one is beating her here.

Raymond Graham: Against the clock! You are right as her main challengers will be the Jamaican duo of Veronica Campbell-Brown and Christania Williams, both of whom are not in her class. This (10.6) is possible in her final race of the season as she has withdrawn from the Paris Meet on Saturday and could end the season on a high.

Andre Lowe: Williams is coming along very well and I expect that she will play a major role in the near future. It's a shame she had that issue at the start of the 100m Olympic final. Campbell-Brown is out of sorts and will push for a top-three spot, but no testing Thompson here.

Raymond Graham: I saw Campbell-Brown yesterday very early at the athletes' hotel being the first Jamaican to arrive here in Lausanne, and it seems as if she is on real business as she wants to make up for her early 200 metres exit in Rio but will find Thompson too hot to handle and could also finish behind Williams.

Andre Lowe: So we agree Thompson will win. It's a matter of what time she'll run here. Can she get below the 10.70 target that her coach has set for her? There's no one here to push her to that, but I think setting a new national record is also an important objective for her. She'll get close to that, I think.

Raymond Graham: This track is a fast one, and four years ago, both Yohan Blake and Usain Bolt posted stadium records of 9.69 and 19.58 seconds in the 100m and 200 metres, respectively. I am very confident that Thompson will be the third Jamaican to do so as I see Marion Jones' 10.72 seconds, which was set in 1998, going. I think if conditions are right, Thompson will win in 10.67 seconds.