Elaine Thompson-Herah Withdraws From Jamaican Olympic Trials, Will Miss 2024 Paris Olympics

Elaine Thompson-Herah, Jamaica’s two-time Olympic champion in the women’s 100m and 200m, has announced her withdrawal from next month’s Paris Olympics due to an Achilles injury that has failed to heal in time.

The 31-year-old sprinter, who secured gold in the 100m-200m double at both the 2016 Rio Olympics and the pandemic-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, confirmed her decision after pulling out of this week’s Jamaican trials.

In a heartfelt statement shared on social media, Thompson-Herah expressed her disappointment: “I am hurt and devastated to be missing the Olympics this year, but at the end of the day, it’s sports, and my health comes first.”

Thompson-Herah had initially abandoned her hopes to defend her 200m title in Paris after opting out of the 200m race at the Jamaican trials in Kingston.

She had hoped to compete in the 100m, but doubts about her fitness persisted following a race in New York earlier this month, where she suffered a torn Achilles and had to be carried off the track.

Reflecting on the injury, Thompson-Herah recounted:

“I sat on the ground because I couldn’t apply any pressure to the leg whatsoever as I was carried off the track.”

A subsequent medical examination revealed a “small tear” in her Achilles tendon.

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Despite this setback, Thompson-Herah remains determined to continue her sprinting career, stating:

“It’s a long road but I am willing to start over and keep working to make a full recovery and resume my track career.”

Thompson-Herah’s absence from the Paris Olympics is a significant blow to the athletics world, where she has excelled with a personal best of 10.54 seconds in the 100m, the second fastest time in history behind Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 1988 world record of 10.49 seconds.

While she has not won an individual sprint gold at world championships, her dominance in the Olympic arena has been unparalleled.