3. ELAINE THOMPSON
World and Olympic champion, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce may not have entertained any thoughts on calling it quits anytime soon; nevertheless she may have already found worthy competition and a potential successor in the person of Elaine Thompson. Prior to 2015, not much was known about the 23-year old who is a training partner of Fraser-Pryce, as both athletes are trained by MVP Track Club head coach, Stephen Francis.
From a 5th place finish at the 2014 National Championships to winning the 200m at the 2015 edition, this season has indeed been a breakout year for Thompson. She fired a note of warning with a World Lead (WL) of 10.92s at the UTech Classic in April, and showed that her victory was no fluke after winning the 100m at the Jamaican Invitational a month later, defeating the pair of Blessing Okagbare-Ighoteguonor and Allyson Felix in the process.
Thompson ran a PB of 10.84s at the international race of the Eugene Diamond League, which puts her at No. 6 on the 2015 world rankings alongside Kelly-Ann Baptiste. She then skipped the 100m at the Jamaican National Trials to compete in the 200m, winning her first national title with a PB of 22.37s. However, she maintained her form in the 100m and went on to win the IAAF World Challenge in Spain with a Meeting Record (MR) of 10.90s.
The Jamaican sprinter gave a glimpse of what she is capable of ahead of the World Championships, stunning the likes of Tori Bowie and Candyce McGrone at the Sainsbury Anniversary Games. She stormed to victory in the 200m with an MR of 22.10s, erasing the 23-year old record of veteran Merlene Ottey. Her time of 22.10s has propelled her to 4th on this year’s top list, behind the trio of Felix (21.98s), McGrone (22.08s) and Dafne Schippers (22.09s). She is certainly one to watch out for!
