‘The goal wasn’t to prove anything’
Thompson reveals that scary 9.77 world lead wasn’t all there is
Published:Sunday | June 30, 2024 | 12:10 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
FRESHLY MINTED national sprint champion Kishane Thompson revealed that his world lead time of 9.77 on Friday at the National Stadium was merely a test to see how well his training programme had been going.
According to Thompson, his coach, Stephen Francis, had instructed him to take the foot off the gas pedal after 60 metres, once he had secured a top-three place and booked his spot to the Paris Olympics.
“Stephen Francis instructed me to just run the first 60 metres, nothing more, then shut it down. Even if I came second or third, I would still make the team. So the goal wasn’t to prove anything, but rather to run and see where I was at,” said Thompson.
Throughout the championships, the powerfully built Thompson consistently showed he was the man to beat, running 9.82 in the heats, 9.84 in the semi-final, before his world-leading showstopper in the final.
According to the 22-year-old, the championships provided a learning curve because he had never run rounds before.
At last Trials, Thompson surprised the field in the heats in much the same way, storming to 9.91 seconds, but had to be pulled from the rest of the meet as a precautionary measure.
“It was the first time that I was doing rounds, so I’m really satisfied. Because I hadn’t done rounds until this moment, I didn’t know how to conserve. I tried to in the first two rounds but I almost fell because I didn’t know how to apply myself with that speed,” said Thompson.
Between now and the Olympic Games, Thompson said, he would be working on the technicalities of his race.
“We have some technicalities to work on, including my transition, reaction and staying fit and healthy. In the past, I suffered with my execution. Even though I had raw speed and talent, I wasn’t patient enough with both my talent and speed.”
Still, Thompson, who is aware he is a rookie on the international stage where the competition is fierce, is taking a sage approach to the next two months.
“I really believe in what he (Francis) says because he’s brought me thus far. Competition can be really tense, because all of us wants to win, but I just want to run fast and enjoy myself.”