Guest: Elaine Thompson Herah
Double Olympic Champion

Elaine Thompson Herah is the reigning Olympic Double Sprint Champion,  she was the first woman in 28 years to win the 100m and 200m at the Olympic Games when she raced to victory at Rio 2016. Her time of 21.66 in the 200m sees her among some legends where she is the fifth fastest woman in history. The gold medallist is currently ranked 3rd in the world in the 100m after running sub 11 seconds in this abbreviated season.   

In this episode, Elaine discusses Sprinting Into History. She speaks about her achievement in the 100m and 200m at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio, Brazil and her mental readiness as she prepared for the Olympic Games after dealing with an injury. 

Elaine also speaks about:

1. Her interest in track and field from a young age
2. Her early life in Banana Ground, Manchester and how it impacted her life 
3. Her participation in the Boys and Girls Championships and how it helped to prepare her for her professional career
4. How she started her professional career at the MVP Track and Field Club at the University of Technology, Jamaica 
5. Her breakout year, 2015 and her consistently bettering her personal bests
6. Her experience at her first major championship in 2015 and representing Jamaica at the World Athletics Championships and running her personal best time of 21.66 in the 200m finals
7. The build up to Rio 2016 where she had not competed after National Senior Trials and the expectations of her others for her performance 

Elaine shares what motivates her and wanting to be a mentor for younger athletes. She also speaks about how she stays focused as she deals with being a public figure and staying mentally strong as she deals with the impact of injuries. 

Other topics discussed are:

1. Her performances at meets in this abbreviated season and how the downtime due to the pandemic has helped her to heal and recover from her injuries
2. Managing criticism about her performance as a public figure
3. Her belief that she can go faster 
4. Her experience as a newly-wed and her husband being her support system 
5. Her top moment as an athlete, the Rio 2016 experience 
6. The postponement of Tokyo 2020 and how it has aided in her being better prepared to defend her sprint double 
7. Training with Stephen Francis for the past decade and her trust in him 
8. Her goals for the next five years including achieving a World Athletics Championships gold medal, running below 10.70 in the 100m and bettering her personal best in the 200m
9. Advice for young and upcoming athletes.

Connect with Elaine:

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