“Kishane is ahead of where Asafa was at each stage”: Possible Jamaica Standout at Paris Olympics

During an interview aired on Friday, veteran MVP track coach Stephen Francis discussed 2023 breakout Jamaican sprint star Kishane Thompson and hinted at a possible standout performance at this year’s Olympics if he performs well at the national trials.

Thompson made an impression during the previous athletic season running a personal best(PB) of 9.85s (Xiamen 2023), finishing the year ranked the fastest Jamaican in the world and the sixth-fastest man.

Speaking with TVJ, Francis explained that a continuous shin problem has limited his training in the past.

Francis shared that this prompted MVP’s decision last year to limit Thompson to competing in one race per meet at the trials. While they had hoped Thompson would have a full year of training, he later tore his quad in January.

However, Francis shared that, thanks to special equipment sourced from Australia, they have been able to manage his injury and he is free of pain. The coach added that if he is able to survive next week’s trials, then he will be really ready for the Olympics.

Francis went on to compare Thompson’s capabilities to those of former MVP member Asafa Powell, who holds the record for most 100m races completed in under ten seconds.

“They are very very similar, except that Kishane is ahead of where Asafa was at each stage in terms of he is a very powerful athlete. He has problems or potential problems with his weight, depend on his discipline.”

He added, “They are very similar people, but I think the difference between Asafa and Kishane is that now 15 years later [ … ] we have far more sophisticated analytics set up, which would allow him I think to be better,” Francis stated.

Watch Francis’ interview below.

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