TOKYO - Fans couldn't help but point out the frosty atmosphere between Elaine Thompson-Herah and her Jamaican teammates after she stormed to gold in the 100m final at the Olympics on Saturday night.
Thompson-Herah broke Florence Griffith Joyner's 33-year Olympic record in Tokyo, crossing the line in 10.61 seconds to defend her title and lead a Jamaican sweep of the medals.
Griffith Joyner set the old record of 10.62 at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Thompson-Herah beat her top rival, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, by 0.13 seconds in Saturday's showdown.
Fellow Jamaican Shericka Jackson, who moved to the shorter sprints for the Tokyo Olympics, took bronze in 10.76.
But despite the Jamaican clean sweep, Fraser-Pryce and Jackson didn't seem overly keen to celebrate with Thompson-Herah.
Fraser-Pryce and Jackson stood away from Thompson-Herah as they awaited the final result to appear on the scoreboard, then offered a cold and quick pat on the back when it was confirmed.
"There wasn't a whole lot of love there was there?" Bruce McAvaney noted.
Aussie Olympian Tamsyn Manou revealed there is tension between the Jamaican teammates after Fraser-Pryce recently moved to a different coaching stable.
“I think it’s pretty obvious (there’s tension) when Shally-Ann Fraser-Pryce left the coach after she’s won a gold medal at the world champs,” Manou explained.
“She wanted to be in a different training group for a reason.”
Sports journalist Mark Gottleib tweeted: "I don’t think those other two Jamaicans like Thompson-Herah very much.
"That’s a pretty cold reception for her win from Fraser-Pryce and Jackson as Thompson-Herah sits on the ground screaming at herself. A light tap on the back and moved off."
Thompson-Herah believes the 100m world record is within her grasp after her dazzling time on Saturday night.
It was the second fastest time in history, but Thompson-Herah reckons she might even have annexed the late Flo Jo's mark on Saturday if she hadn't started celebrating so early in the race.
"It's a work in progress. Anything is possible," said Thompson-Herah, when asked if she could set a new mark.
"I think I could have gone faster if I wasn't pointing and celebrating, really.
"But to show you that there's more in store. Hopefully, one day I can unleash that time.
"I knew I was clear, that I won, so I started to celebrate too early. There's most definitely (a world record ) if I didn't celebrate.
"Two months ago, maybe a month and a half ago, I didn't think I would be here (because of an Achilles injury). I held my composure.
"I believed in myself, I believed in God. The team around me is very strong, I get the support and I believe in myself.
"I have more years. I'm just 29. I'm not 30. I'm not 40. I'm still working."
No Olympic champion had broken 10.7 since 'Flo Jo' and Thompson-Herah wasn't sure she would either as she approached the finish.
"But I knew that I won," she said.
"The pointing, I don't know what it means. To show that I was clear." - Agencies. Aug 2, 2021
