Elaine Thompson-Herah’s “Body Physically is Done,” Says Former Trinidadian Sprinter Ato Boldon
Amid speculations about what lies ahead for sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, Trinidadian track coach and former athlete Ato Boldon has expressed his doubts that the track star will be able to return to her winning form.
The 2024 Paris Olympics kicked off this week in France, but absent from Jamaica’s delegation is Thompson-Herah, who suffered a season-ending injury leading up to this year’s Olympics.
The athlete has been struggling with a long-standing Achilles injury, which was a topic of discussion on an episode of LetsRun.Com’s Track Talk Podcast.
During the podcast, Boldon said that he thinks Thompson-Herah overestimated “her value” after capturing her second sprint double in the 100m and 200m at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Speaking on the business side of sprinting, Bolden added that companies are watching, and the athlete is likely to lose sponsors overtime if she is not performing well.
The four-time Olympic medalist further expressed that mistakes were made with Thompson-Herah and said that her body is “done.”
“I think there were some mistakes made with Elaine, but I think more than anything, it’s that her body physically is done [ … ] I know the 100. When the body has had enough, when it’s done, it’s done [ … ] She has done things that nobody else has done. She’s in a club of one with her double-double in the last two Olympic Games, but I don’t think she’s coming back [ … ] not with that injury,” Boldon stated.
Reinforcing his point, Boldon highlighted that before Asafa Powell retired, he was unable to return to peak performance despite delaying his departure from the sport. Reacting to Bolden’s statements, one Twitter/X user pointed out that famed track coach Stephen Francis, who coached Thompson-Herah for years, still believes that she has more to give.
“I mean, her former coach, who knows her body, said she’s not done, but Ato Boldon, who “knows” the 100m, thinks she is,” the X user wrote, sharing an interview clip of Francis.
Watch the interview clips below.
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