ELAINE THOMPSON RUNS SECOND FASTEST WOMEN’S 100M

Elaine Thompson-Herah ran the second fastest women’s 100m time, clocking a time of 10.54 seconds during the women’s 100m at the Eugene Diamond League on Saturday.

The Jamaican is swiftly closing in on American Florence Griffith-Joyner’s world record of 10.49 seconds, set in 1988. Just weeks ago, Thompson-Herah broke the Olympic record when she clocked in a time of 10.61 seconds in the women’s 100m Olympic final.

‘To come back with a PB after the championships, that is amazing,’ she told Athletics Weekly after the race. ‘I haven’t run that fast in five years. It means a lot to me… because my job is to inspire a generation.’Thompson-Herah’s Jamaican compatriots, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, followed her home in second and third place respectively.

Canada’s Andre de Grasse, who took bronze in Tokyo, won the men’s 100m in 9.74 seconds. American Fred Kerley finished in second, followed by compatriot Ronnie Baker in third. Elsewhere, Britain’s Dina Asher-Smith finished third in the 200m. She clocked a time of 22.18, showing a promising return from a hamstring injury which hampered her Olympic chances in Tokyo. Switzerland’s Mujinga Kambundji won the race in a PB of 22.06, followed by American Gabrielle Thomas in 22.10.

Meanwhile, world champion and American Olympic bronze medalist Noah Lyles set a new Eugene meeting record in the men’s 200m. He finished in 19.52 – just two one-hundredths of a second behind his PB.