Jamaica’s sprint queens face rising stars in Tokyo

The women’s event will feature a stronger line-up than the men, pitting as it does two of the all-time greats against each other

The leading contenders for the women's 100m at the Tokyo Olympics. From l-r: Dina Asher-Smith, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, Elaine Thompson-Herah and Sha’Carri Richardson.

For many years, the world’s fastest women have been forced to sprint in a shadow. First, there was the towering presence of Usain Bolt, his intergalactic ability and supersonic personality drawing the eyes of the public irresistibly towards the men’s 100m, at least until his retirement in 2017.

Then there was the shadow of the past, the computer-game times run by female athletes in the 1980s, an era when anabolic steroid use was rife and the willingness to detect it virtually non-existent.

These days tracks are faster, spikes are better, training methods more advanced, yet the most gifted female sprinters on the planet have no realistic shot at world records — 10.49 for 100m and 21.34 for 200m, both set by the late Florence Griffith-Joyner — that only the deluded believe were achieved by natural means.

In a sport where gender equality is the norm rather than the exception, there’s no good reason the men’s 100m final in Tokyo should overshadow the women’s and, if anything, the opposite should be true, given the women’s event will feature a stronger line-up, pitting as it does two of the all-time greats against each other.

With a little under six months until that race, the safest bet is that the gold medal makes its way to Jamaica for the fourth successive Games, but there are other athletes, two in particular, who look capable of springing an upset.

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica)

Ask the average person to name the top five female sportspeople in the world and it’s unlikely many will include Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce.

Such is the shame of being a Jamaican sprinter whose career ran in tandem with Usain Bolt’s.

But in truth the 34-year-old should rank right up there with the likes of Simone Biles, Katie Ledecky and Naomi Osaka — she’s that level of sporting royalty.

In the most popular event in the most universal sport, Fraser-Pryce has won two Olympic titles (2008 and 2012), four world titles (2009, 2013, 2015, 2019) and that’s before we get to relays. In front of almost empty stands at the 2019 World Championships — proof if needed why sporting organisations should say no to Doha — the so-called ‘Mommy Rocket’ exploded from the blocks and left her rivals trailing, winning the 100m title in 10.71.

If she gets to Tokyo in good order, she’ll be out on her own midway through the 100m final, and it’ll take a hell of an athlete to run her down.

Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jamaica)

If there’s one athlete who can, it’s the reigning Olympic 100m champion who has the same PB (10.70) as Fraser-Pryce.

Thompson-Herah ran the fastest time in the world last year with 10.85 and if she can avoid the injury issues that plagued her in recent years, Fraser-Pryce will hear her footsteps closing with every stride as she approaches the line in Tokyo.

Dina Asher-Smith (Great Britain & Northern Ireland)

The darling of British athletics, Asher-Smith is every bit as likeable as she is believable, her times never taking the sort of cosmic leap forward that causes fans to furrow their brows in suspicion.

In 2014 she was world U20 champion and clocked 11.14 for 100m and after seven years of steady progression under long-time coach John Blackie, she has developed, at age 25, into a 10.83-second athlete and an Olympic medal contender.

Asher-Smith won her first world title over 200m in 2019 and made a strong start to this year with a 60m PB of 7.08. If she can creep into the 10.7s in time for Tokyo, she’ll be in contention for gold.

Sha’Carri Richardson (USA)

In June 2019 the sprinting world was served notice of a potential great when this 19-year-old American blitzed her rivals to win the NCAA 100m title in 10.75.

She turned pro soon after and signed a lucrative deal with Nike, who saw her as a potential face of the Games for Team USA in Tokyo.

Amid the pandemic, her first year as a professional was a quiet one, but Richardson clocked a 200m PB of 22.00 and a wind-aided 10.79 for 100m. Very few outside of athletics know who she is right now, but come August she could well have developed into a household name.