The fastest woman alive, Elaine Thompson-Herah, has revealed that she competed through the pain barrier in the 2022 season in order to meet objectives in her new sponsorship deal with Puma.
The 30-year-old was the guest on the Fast Lane Lifestyle podcast hosted by retired sprinter Asafa Powell and his wife Alyshia.
In the almost hour-long episode published on Tuesday, Thompson-Herah also addressed her recent departure from the MVP Track Club.
William Mitchell reports.
Elaine Thompson-Herah has an enviable global medal haul.
These include consecutive Olympic sprint doubles titles and a 10.54 second 100m to make her the fastest woman alive and the second fastest all time.
After the highs of a historic 2021 season, Thompson-Herah said a recurrence of Achilles and shoulder injuries derailed her 2022 season.
However, the 30-year-old said she competed through the pain to meet targets in her deal with Puma.
The podcast set tongues wagging when it was released on Tuesday. Observers either panned or supporting Thompson-Herah and Powell’s take on being a famous track athlete in Jamaica.
They also bemoaned being dehumanised by those who don’t see work done off the track.
Thompson-Herah says it was with her future in mind that she decided to ditch the MVP Track Club to be trained by her husband.
With speculation abound around that decision, Thompson-Herah says she doesn’t owe anyone an explanation.
Meanwhile, former world record holder, Asafa Powell, has branded several Jamaicans as ‘ungrateful’ for not recognising the ‘privilege’ they enjoy for having the world class sprinters remain living in the country.
The retired sprinter was joined by Thompson-Herah in his assertion that they are superstars who shouldn’t be treated like regular people.
Asafa Powell.
