Jamaican sprint star Thompson-Herah ‘devastated’ after injury rules her out of Paris Olympics

Jamaica’s two-time Olympic women’s 100m and 200m champion Elaine Thompson-Herah will not defend her titles at next month’s Paris Games after failing to recover from an Achilles injury, the sprint star said on Wednesday.

Thompson-Herah, who completed the 100m-200m gold medal double at both the 2016 and 2021 Olympics, confirmed her decision after pulling out of this week’s Jamaican trials.

“I am hurt and devastated to be missing the Olympics this year but at the end of the day it’s sports and my health comes first,” Thompson-Herah, 31, wrote in a statement shared on social media.

Thompson-Herah had already abandoned her bid to defend her 200m crown in Paris after opting not to take part in the 200m at this week’s Jamaica trials in Kingston.

However, she had entered the 100m at the trials and retained hope of being able to compete in Paris over the shorter distance.

Thompson-Herah’s fitness had been in doubt ever since she competed at a race in New York earlier this month, where she needed to be carried from the track after suffering a torn Achilles.