Jamaica's Thompson secures sprint double

August 18, 2016 08:29 IST

Elaine Thompson

IMAGE: Elaine Thompson of Jamaica celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Women's 200m Final on Day 12 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Photograph: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images.

Jamaica's Elaine Thompson completed a memorable sprint double on Wednesday after storming to victory in the women's 200 metres final, blowing away the field with a season's best run of 21.78 seconds.

The 24-year-old 100m champion beat pre-race favourite Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands, who ran her fastest time of the season in the final but had to settle for silver.

Elaine Thompson

IMAGE: Elaine Thompson of Jamaica, left, wins the gold medal in the Women's 200m Final ahead of Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands. Photograph: Alexander Hassenstein/Getty Images.

Schippers, world 200m champion, picked up a leg muscle injury ahead of the 100m final last week and said she almost pulled out of the Games.

After winning the 100m final Thompson said she was surprised by her victory but she appeared in complete control after a brilliant start that helped her surge ahead of the field after the bend.

Elaine Thompson

IMAGE: Silver medalist Dafne Schippers of the Netherlands, left, greets gold medalist Elaine Thompson of Jamaica. Photograph: Matthias Hangst/Getty Images.

American Tori Bowie, who won a silver medal in the 100m final, grabbed bronze.

Ahead of the final, Bowie was the only woman other than Schippers to have run a sub-22 second race over 200m this year.

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