In the women’s 100 and 200 meters, sprint queens Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, and Shericka Jackson were either injured or not present, which resulted in a quick halt to Jamaica’s domination in Paris.
Jamaica emerged victorious in their ongoing rivalry with the United States, taking home ten of the twelve women’s 100 medals that were up for grabs in the four Olympics before to Paris, including a clean sweep in Tokyo. They also won four of the previous five 200s.
The “big three” from Jamaica, who have combined for 19 Olympic medals, topped the podium three years prior. However, Thompson-Herah was forced to withdraw from the Paris Games due to injury, and Fraser-Pryce and Jackson’s seasons were cut short due to illness, and neither of them made it to the starting line for the individual or relay finals.
It was the first time since 1988 that there was not a single Jamaican on the podium, with only Tia Clayton representing her country in the 100 final, which was won by Julien Alfred of St. Lucia. Americans took home the silver and bronze medals.
For the first time since 1976, Jamaica failed to produce a medallist in the 200 meters, failing to even produce a finalist.
Two-time sprint champion Thompson-Herah was sidelined by an Achilles injury in June, and Jackson withdrew from the 200 days prior to her scheduled race, having already withdrew from the 100 before the Games.
Fraser-Pryce participated in the 100 qualifiers but withdrew from the competition just before the semi-finals because of an injury sustained during the warm-up after being denied entry to the stadium by security personnel.
Neither of them participated in the sprint relay, in which Jamaica placed sixth after winning it in Tokyo and earning silver in the two Games prior. After winning six medals in the previous six events, they relinquished the baton in the 4×400 final.
Rasheed Broadbell earned bronze in the 110 hurdles, and Kishane Thompson narrowly missed gold in the 100 hurdles, finishing five-thousandths of a second behind American Noah Lyles. However, Jamaica failed not even make it to the final of the 4×100 relay.
But it wasn’t all bad news; the nation had a successful Games in the field sports, winning its first medals in the men’s discuss and shot put.
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