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Strong finish for Thompson Herah’s season

Published:Saturday | September 26, 2020 | 12:08 AMRaymond Graham/Gleaner Writer
Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson Herah (second left) comes through to win the women’s 100m at the Wanda Diamond League in Doha, Qatar, yesterday.
Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson Herah (second left) comes through to win the women’s 100m at the Wanda Diamond League in Doha, Qatar, yesterday.

Like she was a week ago in Rome, Olympic sprint double champion Elaine Thompson Herah was in winning form at the Doha leg of the Wanda Diamond League at the Qatar Sports Complex. She sped to a time of 10.87 seconds to win the women’s 100m to end her season on a high.

Thompson Herah, the world leader in the event with 10.85 seconds, had no difficulty in the race as the Ivory Coast’s Marie-Josée Ta Lou improved on her third-place finish a week earlier to finish second in 11.21 seconds, with the United States’ Kayla White closing out the top three with a time of 11.25s. The Bahamas’ Anthonique Strachan, who trains in Jamaica, showed improvement on her last run after coming in fifth in a season’s best of 11.42s.

Thompson had high praises for the organisers of the meet.

“It’s been wonderful being here in Doha, and I want to thank the organisers for putting together such a great event,” she said. “I am happy to win, but my major focus is to finish the year healthy. Preparations for the Olympics is next on my agenda, and it begins in earnest. I don’t normally celebrate a win for long, and tonight, I am just going to have some rest and eat good food before heading to the airport. I hope to resume training in earnest.”

After a disappointing run in the men’s 100m in Rome, where he finished sixth, Julian Forte bounced back in style after logging a season’s best of 20.39 seconds in the 200m for a second-place finish. The Ivory Coast’s Arthur Cissé, who was second in Rome, also in the men’s 100m, went all the way this time, finishing in front in a national record of 20.23 seconds. Christophe Lemaitre of France finished third in 20.68 seconds.

The other Jamaican at the meet, sprint hurdler Yanique Thompson, could only manage an eighth-place finish in the women’s 100m hurdles in 13.52 seconds as the United States’ Payton Chadwick won the event in a season’s best 12.78 seconds.