Jamaica completed a clean sweep of the medal places in the women’s 100m, punctuated by Elaine Thompson-Herah posting the second-fastest time ever in the event.
The Rio 2016 champion defended her gold medal in style by winning in a time of 10.61 seconds, an Olympic record and a time only bested by Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 10.49 set in 1988.
“I was just trying to execute the best race. I wasn’t looking for any record or any time,” Thompson-Herah said.
“But eventually those times will be erased. Even if it takes five, four years.
“Women are coming up, rising. Therefore to run this Olympic record tonight, that sends out a signal and a warning that anything is possible.”
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce took silver, her fourth Olympic medal in the event. She took gold in the women’s 100m at the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2012, and bronze in 2016.
“I’m just really excited that I was able to stand on the line for my fourth Olympic Games and to be able to have two of my countrymen represent the way they did tonight. It’s just remarkable.
“It’s definitely a legacy for Jamaica. It speaks to the depth that we have. So to be in a final where the semifinals had four women running 10.7 is truly remarkable and I hope that come the next couple of years that female athletes will definitely get the credit for showing up and producing good times.”
Fraser-Pryce, 34, is the first athlete to win four Olympic medals in the women’s 100m, surpassing her compatriot Merlene Ottey.
Shericka Jackson completed the podium for Jamaica. This was the third time Jamaica took gold, silver and bronze in an event at the Olympic Games, after the women’s 100m in 2008 and the men’s 200m in 2012.
It is the second time at the Tokyo Olympics that a country has swept the medals in an event. Switzerland finished first, second and third in the women’s cross-country in cycling mountain bike.