The speed that made Elaine Thompson-Herah the fastest woman alive also broke her body. She missed two years of action, made her comeback in 2026, and has since focused on major events, including the Jamaican Championships. It proved fruitful as she made the 100m final. Then, without warning, she was gone from the start list.

Multiple fans at the race or watching it at Kingston’s National Stadium reported the start list for the final, confirming the news.

“Elaine Thompson-Herah is a DNS in the women’s 100m final at the JAAA Champs,” a user on X wrote.

Sabrina Dockery, 19, replaced Thompson-Herah after clocking 11.31 in Heat 3 of the prelims, finishing behind Jonielle Smith and Shericka Jackson. It meant that she was 0.07 seconds behind Ashanti Moore for the eighth-best time and thus wouldn’t make the cut. That was until Elaine Thompson-Herah’s DNS, which allowed the teenager to make the cut.

Thompson-Herah and the JAAA have not explained the withdrawal. However, the DNS comes as a major surprise, especially after the 33-year-old ran an impressive preliminary round. The Jamaican raced in Heat 2 alongside Alana Reid and Jodean Williams, finishing second behind Reid with a time of 11.18. It marked her second-best time of the season in the 100m.

This 11.18 came despite Thompson-Herah running only twice this season, starting in just one. In that one, the Olympian clocked a time of 10.92. That was her fastest time in the 100m since she recorded 10.79 in 2023. What makes it even worse is the ordeal that Thompson-Herah has endured over the last two years. The five-time Olympic gold medalist believed that 2024 was her year, and why wouldn’t she?

She podiumed in all but two 2023 races, including Prefontaine and the Bruxelles Diamond League. And with the Paris Olympics looming, the world was her oyster, although fate had other plans.

In her only two races, she finished ninth—shocking for the ‘world’s fastest woman alive.’ Her Achilles was the problem.

“After running 10.54, it has been a challenge,” Thompson-Herah told NBC. “Running that high, it takes a toll on my body, I must say. The Achilles was not giving me anything.

Nobody expected that to turn into two years and miss the 2024 Olympics. Not even Thompson-Herah, but the 33-year-old made her comeback in 2026 with fans excited to see her race at the Jamaican National Championships.

Elaine Thompson-Herah reflects on her long injury layoff

For Elaine Thompson-Herah, nothing hurt more than losing two years of her career. That’s because the now 33-year-old was arguably at the peak of her powers before her Achilles issue. But then arrived a rotating door of coaches and back-to-back injuries that limited her progress. Instead of thriving and adding to her tally of Olympic medals, Thompson-Herah watched others take the spotlight.

Many believed that it was the end of the Jamaican’s dominance over sprinting until she made her comeback in 2026. Under a returning coach, she clocked her fastest 100m time since late 2023. She then produced a comeback run to help secure gold at the World Relays, her first appearance at the event since 2023. Even then, that doesn’t mean that the two years she spent sidelined didn’t take their toll.

“It has been challenging mentally, physically, but for me, I’m always living myself as a tough cookie,” Thompson-Herah said before the 2026 World Relays. “I’ve never been to therapy or whatever that thing is.”

“I don’t believe in it because I’m my own therapy. And I do believe in God. I have a supportive team who believes in me, and I do believe in myself.”

While there has been no update regarding why Elaine Thompson-Herah didn’t start the 100m final at the Jamaican National Championships, rumors are swirling. Many believe that it could be an injury, especially after she pulled out of the 100m final at the Velocity Fest in April. 

Only time will tell what happened, though 2026 is the year she aims to rediscover herself.