Jamaica's Elaine Thompson-Herah and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce have remained unbeaten in the 100m for the current 2022 track and field season. Indeed, they are the national and global front-runners in the 100m.
Thompson-Herah, the double-double Olympic Champion, has posted 10.79 and 10.83 as her two fastest 100m times for this season. And these she did at the Prefontaine Classic in Oregon in May 2022 and at the Rabat Diamond League in Morocco on June 2, 2022.
Fraser-Pryce vs Thompson-Herah
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, the four-times and defending 100m World Champion has posted the fastest times this year. In her very first international meet in Nairobi, Kenya on May 7, 2022, the diminutive speedster posted 10.67, a time she equaled a month later at the Paris Diamond League on June 18, 2022.
The stage is therefore set for another terrific year of sprinting between the two juggernauts. The question is, who will prevail at this year’s World Championship? Will it be the reigning Olympic double-double champion or the four-time and defending 100m World Champion? Will it be Elaine Thompson-Herah or will it be Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce?
Fraser-Pryce is having a better season
Clearly, Fraser-Pryce has thrown down the gauntlet from early with her repeat 10.67 runs. But, can she maintain this form until the World Championship or improve on it? Indeed, that will be crucial if she is to defend her 100m title.
Thompson-Herah is a phenomenal sprinter with sublime speed and unmatched form; once she is reasonably fit and healthy, she will prove almost impossible to beat. Thompson-Herah has a very different approach than Fraser-Pryce; she generally builds towards the National Trials and global Championships. And based on past successes, it is quite conceivable that Thompson-Herah will run very fast this weekend and certainly at the World Championship.
Jamaica will sweep the women’s 100m
The fans have their favorite! Some are ardent supporters of Fraser-Pryce while others are firmly behind Thompson-Herah. But at that ultimate final, who will prevail? History aside at the World Championship, I think Elaine Thompson-Herah will get the better of Fraser-Pryce and retire the long-standing and dubious World Record of Florence Griffith-Joyner (10.49). I will call it from now. Thompson-Herah will run between 10.46 and 10.44 in the final of the women's 100m. Fraser-Pryce will be second and Shericka Jackson will be third to repeat the 2020 Tokyo podium sweep.
Henley Taylor
Freelance Sportswriter
Edited by Raymond Byfield
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