Johnette Howard is an award-winning writer and author who previously worked for Sports Illustrated, The Washington Post, and Newsday. She is the proud defending two-times champion.
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Tori Bowie of the United States of America today finished second in 10.83 seconds.
Baptistes time was not quick enough to see her progress to the semis.
Only two crew members remained from the boat that won gold in the London Olympics, and only one from Beijing four years earlier.
Fraser-Pryce edged out Marie-Josee Ta Lou to grab bronze – both women given the same time of 10.86, while Dafne Schippers came fifth and English Gardner – who had run 10.74 at the US Olympic trials – came a disappointing seventh. She’s favored over the longer-distance, and is hoping that a bronze is achievable. After she and her sister were sent to foster care as toddlers, their grandmother won custody and raised them.
She looked no worse for wear over three heats in Rio de Janeiro.
“Oh yeah, she’s watching – and she’s probably crying right now”, Bowie said with a smile. That 10.70 in Kingston was the best of five sub-10.8 women’s sprints this year and served notice that things could be changing once the sprinters reached Rio de Janeiro. But “he didn’t feel very powerful”, she wrote.
Thompson is from the village of Banana Ground in Manchester Parish, where she was raised by her grandmother.
To help those who grew up in an underprivileged area, such as her own, Fraser-Pryce created the Pocket Rocket Foundation. Thompson did most of the listening.
“We got ourselves a medal, miss Kim, are you happy?” she beamed.
It was then that she called her agent, Kim Holland, and finally took the advice of Holland (and others before) to switch to sprinting. “We have the approval of God”, she told reporters in 2012.
TENNIS: Monica Puig won Puerto Rico’s first Olympic gold medal in any sport, upsetting Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in the women’s singles final.
And now, there’s a new champion from the island country that seems to grow them on trees. Usain Bolt won his heat in 10.07 seconds. “When I went down I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s it, ‘” Farah said.
Thompson was one such kid.
Fraser-Pryce put on a courageous face and smiled when she was introduced to the stadium for the semi-final of the 100m. She has yet to medal in this event on the World stage, but was part of the winning 4×100-meter relay team at the 2015 World Championships.
Though Fraser-Pryce may have been first out of the blocks Saturday, Thompson powered through for the title in 10.71 seconds. Even Thompson suggested that afterward.
So often overshadowed by Bolt, Fraser-Pryce is just as formidable over the 100.
All that and more went down on Saturday.
“I cried because [the pain] was unbearable”, Fraser-Pryce said.
“I just tried to do my best and have no regrets so I could leave thinking I gave it all”.
Teammate Philip said: “I’m not doing as well as I want to be doing, but I’m still at the Olympics and I’ve made a semi-final”.
The bronze medal was Fraser-Pryce’s lowest 100-meter finish in three Olympics. “Heard it was his hand or something – this happens in long jump, I’m sad it happened to him”.
“I’m really happy for her”. “I said, ‘Don’t panic, you can’t let her down, you can’t let her down.’ My twins got one gold medal each in 2012, so I wanted one for her and that’s why I got emotional at the end”.
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Thompson could keep it that way for a while.
