Elaine Thompson-Herah reportedly won’t defend Olympic 200m title

Back-to-back defending Olympic women’s 100m and 200m champion, Elaine Thompson Herah, will not try for a threepeat in the latter event.

Official entries for the upcoming Jamaican Olympic trials, which run from Jun. 27-30, omit Thompson-Herah from the start lists for the women’s 200m. As a result, there will be a new women’s 200m gold medallist in Paris after Thompson-Herah took hold of the title in the last two summer games in Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo.

🇯🇲 According to the entries from the JAAA for the upcoming Jamaican Olympic Trials, reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah is only entered in the 100m.

She has not run a 200m race since April 2023, when she clocked a 23.23 in Gainesville.

It has been a tough season for… pic.twitter.com/prQkOFs3RR

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Thompson-Herah skipping the women’s 200m comes after the legendary sprinter injured her Achilles tendon during the women’s 100m at the New York City Grand Prix. The NYC race was Thompson-Herah’s second race of the season after an underwhelming opener in the women’s 100m at the Prefontaine Classic, finishing 8th.

Elaine Thompson-Herah is the fastest woman alive in the women’s 100m after running 10.54 seconds during the 2021 Prefontaine Classic. That run came after she set an Olympic record in the event (10.61 secs) to defend her 100m crown in Tokyo. She’s also the second-fastest women’s 200m runner alive after teammate Shericka Jackson, retaining her Olympic 200m title in 21.53 secs.

Recently, Thompson-Herah switched coaches as she’s been working with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce’s coach, Reynaldo Walcott. The Manchester native has a history of Achilles issues dating back to 2017, requiring load management over the years. Along with winning four individual Olympic gold medals, Thompson-Herah also has gold and silver medals in the 4x100m relays.