The 100-meter world record was set by Florence Griffith Joyner on July 16, 1988, in 10.49 seconds. With this time, Joyner absolutely destroyed the previous record, which stood at 10.76 seconds, this meant that Joyner's new record here improved on the previous mark by 0.27 seconds heading into the 1988 Olympics. Joyner's success continued just two months after setting a new world record, as she placed first in both the 100 and 200 meter finals, setting amazing records of 21.34 and 10.54 seconds, respectively, for her 200 meter gold.
Nevertheless, her victory in the 100 meter event in 10.54 seconds was obtained with an illegal tailwind, so this performance was not eligible for consideration for an Olympic or world record, but in her very first round, she ran a time of 10.62, which was fast enough to break the previous Olympic record in just one incredible season. Since then, these times have remained unchallenged for well over three decades. To give you an idea of how unbelievable these performances have proven, many of the greatest female sprinters in history, including those who have won multiple Olympic medals, have frequently mentioned how remarkably difficult it was to beat these times.
One such woman is Jamaica's Veronica Campbell Brown, an eight-time Olympic medallist and one of the greatest female sprinters to ever compete. The phrase "impossible" was used frequently when comparing these sprinting records to modern athletes, and even though many runners were adamant that no one could ever beat these times on July 31, 2021, one single race changed everything for the preceding six years. She stated that she would probably never get anywhere near these records; they're simply beyond my reach.
Elaine Thompson Herah, a Jamaican, is one of the best sprinters in the world. She won the 100 and 200 meters double in 2016 and the 100 meters world record in 2017. Since the Olympics in Rio, which took place around seven years ago, she has run under eleven seconds in each of her previous seasons. Elaine Thompson's reputation as one of the greatest sprinters in history is undoubtedly well-deserved, but her single best performance of her entire career occurred in the 2021 Olympic Finals when she won the gold medal in the Tokyo Games in an incredible time of 10.61 seconds. This one accomplishment is indescribable.
In the world of track and field, the name "flojo" currently denotes untouchable greatness in sprinting. However, don't tell that to Elaine Thompson, as she ran the race of her life in the 100-meter finals and became the first person to successfully break any records set by Griffith Joyner in 1988.
Indeed, this was a historic performance that went quite well and could go down as the single most memorable moment of the 2021 track and field Olympics. But how exactly did Elaine Thompson succeed this time? Was it just racing perfection? Was it new shoe technologies that are widely available for many athletes worldwide? Or was it a combination of intense racing adrenaline meetings with ideal training preparations for this one 100-meter race?
Honestly, many of these characteristics certainly have an impact on this Olympic record. However, another very important factor that definitely plays a role in this performance was Elaine Thompson's own teammate Shelly Ann Frazer Price, who is generally acknowledged as the greatest female sprinter of all time Price has won six global championship medals in total. She is one of only three female athletes to have won two individual 100-meter Olympic gold medals.
In addition to her dominance in global championships, Price became the fastest woman alive this season, clocking in at 10.63 on June 5, 2021. Price has been the champion for well over a decade now. Her unwavering perseverance and her exceptional consistency in sprinting have led many to consider her the greatest athlete of all time. However, in one race at the previous Olympics, Elaine Thompson joined Price as one of the few athletes to have won two gold medals in the 100-meter individual event title away from fraser price by just two hundredths of a second for the previous few seasons.
These two Jamaican all-stars have been fierce competitors, constantly sparring on many of the biggest stages in the world. Despite their obvious respect for each other's abilities and joy at each other's successes, they also find great motivation when racing against each other. After Price dropped this ridiculous 100-meter time this season, it looked as though she would go on to finish undefeated and once again find herself on the very top of the Olympic podium. However, on July 6th, just 25 days before this Olympic final, Elaine Thompson managed to defeat fraser price with a huge win in 10.71 seconds.
Beyond just this historic rivalry between Thompson and Fraser Price is Thompson's race itself. Just after passing the 70-meter mark, she hit a top-end speed of 39.7 kilometers per hour, which translates to 24.67 miles per hour. This speed is insanely fast; in fact, it's officially the fastest speed that any female has ever achieved, bettering the previous best of Florence Griffith Joyner herself. This victory was undoubtedly a big boost to Thompson's confidence going into these games. and against all odds and even against history, Thompson finally managed to overthrow Flojo's previous Olympic record, which had stood for almost 33 years, who set a world record in 1988 with a run of 10.49 miles per hour.
While every aspect of this new Olympic record is impressive, the most outstanding thing about this 10.61 run may be the fact that she ran into a headwind that was only 0.6 meters per second. This is just absurd. Since this wind is known to take away milliseconds from a 100-meter race, it is essentially a fact that Elaine Thompson could have run much faster in a tailwind if she had put in the same effort. This incredibly makes it plausible that she could break Flojo's world record of 10.49 for many in the vicinity. Everyone, myself included, saw fraser price as the obvious winner of this 100-meter final. When she's on her game, though, she's simply unbeatable, but in a moment of unquestionable dominance, the legendary Elaine Thompson has officially established herself as the fastest woman alive and the new official Olympic record holder in the women's 100-meter event.
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