Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson sends Olympic warning with 9.77sec 100m

The latest Jamaican 100m champion sent a message after his victory insisting he would slow down towards the end of a race in which he ran the fastest time in the world in two years.

Kishane Thompson won the Jamaican national championship in the 100 meters in 9.77 seconds on Friday night, putting him in contention to become Olympic champion next month alongside his country’s best sprinter, Usain Bolt.

“My coach told me to just run the first 60 [metres]“That’s it,” the 22-year-old Thompson said after his win. “After that, I should just close it out. If I get second or third, I’ll make the team. The goal wasn’t to do anything, it was to run a 70 or a 60 and see where I’m at.”

Thompson set a time of 9.82 in his opening heat on Thursday evening. The Jamaican Championships will be the first competition he has competed in since November 2023.

Thompson defeated Oblique Sevilla, a Tokyo Olympic semifinalist who earlier this year claimed a victory over American contender Noah Lyles.

Thompson’s time of 9.77 was the fastest since American Fred Kerley won the 2022 world championship in 9.76. Thompson is now the fourth-fastest Jamaican in history, behind Bolt, Yohan Blake and Asafa Powell.

“I’m not sure how fast I can go, but the time didn’t surprise me tonight,” he said.

Bolt’s world record has stood at 9.58 since 2009.

Shericka Jackson won the women’s 100m title and will be joined at the Olympics by Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, who finished third in the race and is now competing in her fifth and final Games.

Fraser-Pryce finished second and Jackson third at the Tokyo Games, behind two-time reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, who is injured this year.

Jackson’s time of 10.84 was 0.06 seconds faster than 19-year-old Tia Clayton, who is making her Olympic debut. Fraser-Pryce won the 2008 and 2012 Olympic titles in the 100m. Jackson is the reigning world champion in the 200m.