Jamaica swept the women’s 100 metres medals at Tokyo’s Olympic Stadium, with Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce taking silver in 10.74 and Shericka Jackson claiming bronze in 10.76.
This was the first Jamaican swept the 100m medals since the women having achieved the same feat at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Elaine Thompson-Herah has broken Florence Griffith Joyner’s Olympic record in the women’s 100 metres to successfully defend the gold medal she won in Rio in 2016.
Thompson-Herah ran a personal best time of 10.61 seconds, to dip under the previous Olympic mark — set by Griffith Joyner in 1988 — by 0.01.
Fraser-Pryce won the event in 2008 and was victorious again four years later in London.
The Tokyo victory gave Thompson-Herah her third Olympic gold medal, as she also won the 200m at the Rio Games.
Saturday night’s final had been shaping up as a fast race for days, if not months.
In June, Fraser-Pryce ran the fourth-fastest time in history with an effort of 10.63.
And when the sprinters arrived in Japan, they discovered a fast track at Olympic Stadium.
In the semi-finals earlier in the evening, the Jamaicans all ran under 10.80 to get on the list of the 10 best times in Olympic history.
Then, it was Thompson-Herah’s turn to make history.
Griffith Joyner’s records are older than virtually every sprinter in the women’s game, save Fraser-Pryce, who was born in 1986.
The world record of 10.49, which Griffith Joyner also set in 1988, still stands.
Fraser-Pryce, 34, came in thinking she could be the one to break the 33-year-old mark.
But when she crossed the line in second place, she flashed a look of disbelief, then stood stone-faced with her hands on her hips looking at the scoreboard.
Thompson-Herah was not surprised. The 29-year-old was looking left toward the clock as she approached the finish line.
She was pointing even before she got to the finish, conjuring memories of fellow Jamaican Usain Bolt.
Bolt celebrated with 10 metres to go when he ran 9.69 to break the men’s world record at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Jackson’s third placing gave her a second Olympic bronze medal.
She reached the podium in the 400m at the Rio Olympics.
