Elaine Thompson-Hera’s Achilles Tendon injury has kept her on her toes since her success at the Rio Olympics. That menace seems to have come back again at the NYC Grand Prix on June 9. The day brought double disappointment for the 5x Olympic champion: she finished in a miserable eighth position, clocking 11.48 seconds behind the winner Favour Ofili (11.18s), and had to leave the track on the shoulders of her coaching staff.

Right after the conclusion of the race, Elaine was seen limping on the track. Eventually, she had to remove her spike from her right leg to cope with the discomfort apparently in her Achilles. That was enough to concern the enthusiasts about her chances at the Paris Olympics. So, wishes and prayers followed right after.

That did not miss the eyes of Elaine Thompson-Herah. 24 hours after the race, she responded with a positive update. Thompson-Herah expressed that she was overwhelmed with so many heartwarming wishes from her fans. Alongside, she came up with the promise to share an update on her condition.

On her IG story, Elaine Thompson-Herah penned, “I haven’t gotten a chance to respond to any as yet but I will [emoji]”. While there is no major update on her injury, immediately after the incident, Elaine tried to clear the air with a note that she was “awaiting professional advice moving forward.” While enthusiasts look for confirmation, their concern is not unnatural given her history of cruising through the nagging Achilles Tendon injury over the years.

• 2017: Elaine Thompson-Herah was in the fifth position at the 100m at the 2017 World Championships. Later, she called it as “the biggest disappointment in her career.”
• 2018: Her performance did not do justice to her status as of the reigning Olympic champion. Although she did well in the national level, she could not reach the top of the podium internationally in that event. Among the four Diamond League 100m races in that year, Doha, Eugene, and Monaco saw her taking the third position, whereas in Lausanne she was second.
• 2019: At the World Championships in Doha, she finished in a disappointing fourth place in the 100m. Furthering that, she had to pull out of the 200m semi-finals and the 4x100m relay.
• 2020: In a resolute comeback ahead of the Tokyo Olympics, she posted two back-to-back wins at the Velocity Fest in Kingston, Jamaica clocking 10.73 and 10.88s. “Disappointment makes you better and stronger because I know what I’m facing is this one lingering injury,” she had said back then.
• 2021: Leaving the injury memories behind, Elaine repeated her double Olympic gold feat from the Rion Olympics (100m and 200m). Alongside, she also picked up her relay Olympic gold.
• 2022: Injury struck again. She pulled out of the Birmingham Diamond League after sensing discomfort in training. But she came back at the Eugene Diamond League on May 28 winning the 100m race with a time of 10.79s. Two months later, at the World Athletics Championships, she secured a decent third place in the same event.
• 2023: The Achilles Tendon injury kept her slow on the tracks. She struggled to clock sub-11 times at the beginning of the season. The Budapest World Championships ended on a disappointing note for her. She finished 5th in the 100m race, and could not compete in the final of the women’s 4x100m women’s relay

If her injury had hurt her Achilles tendon this time, then it would affect her preparation in the coming days. It further worsens the matter after her disappointment at the Prefontaine Classic, where she finished last watching Sha’Carri Richarson win. But her history of battles through injuries seems to be on the side of the double Olympic champion. To top it off she has one more goal to motivate her this year. 

Can Elaine Thompson-Herah do a Usain Bolt act? 

Elaine Thompson-Herah is chasing her compatriot Usain Bolt’s record to make it three consecutive Olympic gold medals in both 100m and 200m events, irrespective of categories. Her newly appointed coach, Reynaldo Walcott (who also coaches Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce) rates her very high in making a comeback on the track. Conceding further on his fabled protégés, the young coach said, “They understand what it means to be successful, and understand what to do to become successful.” Elaine has a splendid record of making a comeback on tracks, defeating her injuries. She did it last year even. 

After missing competitive races for two months because of her injury, Elaine Thompson-Herah stepped in at the JAAA All Comers meet for the 100m event. After claiming her first seasonal victory there, the fastest woman alive said, “It has been a challenging one, but I still hang on. I almost gave up, but you know I have faith.” Furthermore, talking about her fitness, she had some positive words to add during a conversation with Citius Mag in March.

“…have a car you have to you have to service the car…so my duty is to make sure that my body is fine-tuned and service and always ready to..go…the key focus is always to stay healthy. I don’t think it matters about the time right now. It matters about you get in each races and to stay fit and healthy and once I have that…the times will come after,” Elaine had said. In the wake of the fresh injury scare, it remains to be seen if she can repeat the Olympic history for a record third time.