Athletics
Top 5 female sprinters at the Tokyo Olympics
A look at 100m, 200m, 400m, and relay specialists competing at the Olympics.
Battle for 400 - Shaunae Miller-Uibo vs Allyson Felix (Source: AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
Gabby Thomas
Gabrielle Thomas, 24, a Harvard graduate, qualified in style by winning the 200m final at the US Olympic trials with a mindboggling 21.61s. Gabby became the 2nd fastest woman of all time, over 200m, behind only the legendary Florence Griffith-Joyner. What's more impressive is that Gabby set three personal best timings throughout the US trials. Sprinters need to peak at the right time throughout the racing season to get the best possible results, and Gabby seems to be on track for Tokyo with her display in 2021. No one thought anyone would come close to Flo-Jo's world record, but Gabby's recent timing has reinvigorated the debate, and it looks like Olympics might be the perfect stage to find out.
Shaunae Miller-Uibo
A University of Georgia Alum, Shaunae Miller-Uibo is the reigning 400m Olympic champion after she beat Allyson Felix by the finest of margins in Rio 2016. With her long strides at 6 feet 1 inch, Miler-Uibo is a 400m specialist who will compete in the 200m as well in Tokyo despite an unfavourable schedule. Miller would like to remove the dark cloud hanging over her Gold in Rio 2016, which critics felt was undeserved as she had dived at the finish line to snatch the victory from Allyson Felix. Path to glory looks even easier for Miller after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) handed Salwa Eid Naser a two-year ban for violating Anti-Doping rules by missing out-of-competition tests. The ruling meant the reigning world champion, Naser, who beat Miller-Uibo at the Doha World Athletics Championship 2019, with an unbelievable 3rd fastest 400m by a woman, will not appear at the Tokyo Olympics. A rematch of the 2016 400m final between Miller-Uibo and Allyson Felix would be a sight to behold.
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
The Two-time Olympic gold medalist, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, is the personification of ageing like fine wine. At the age of 34, Fraser-Pryce ran the fastest 100m in 33years, a 10.63s race, at the Jamaican Olympic trials. Fraser-Pryce improved on her previous National record she shared with her Jamaican compatriot Elaine Thompson-Herah of 10.70s to become the 2nd fastest woman of all time. A 100m gold at the Tokyo Olympics would take Fraser-Pryce into the neverland of female sprinters to win 3 Olympic gold medals in a single event. Fraser-Pryce would also be competing in the 200m, where she faces tough competition in current World champion Dina Asher-Smith, 2nd fastest 200m woman of all-time Gabby Thomas and reigning Olympic champion Elaine Thompson.
Dina Asher-Smith
Dina Asher-Smith, the Golden girl for Team Britan, looks to open the account of an elusive gold in sprinting for her Country at the Tokyo Olympics. Asher-Smith is the current 200m world champion after she snatched a surprising victory at the Doha World Championship 2019. Even with 2021 timings not as glorious as Fraser-Pryce, Gabby Thomas and Elaine Thompson, Asher-Smith seems unfazed as she believes her form and fitness are Tokyo ready. Smith, who will be competing in the 100m as well, was just a kit carrier at the 2012 London Olympics. Now, she takes the biggest sporting stage, with a nation full of hope on her shoulders.
Elaine Thompson-Herah
Sprinting domination of Jamaica in the men's category might have vanished after the retirement of Usain Bolt; the women, however, have held their fort. The competition between the female Jamaican sprinters itself is keeping each other on their toes. Fraser-Pryce might look like the flagbearer for Jamaican sprint; in reality, she has been bested multiple times by her fellow countrywoman Elaine Thompson. Notably, at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Thompson beat Fraser-Pryce to bag the 100m and 200m golds. Thompson posted an impressive 10.71s over 100m in 2021 to second only to Fraser-Pryce's 10.63s. Thompson, who has had injury problems in the past, has qualified for both 100m and 200m events in Tokyo. In the last 2 100m races, Thompson, who beat Fraser-Pryce, has jumbled up the Bookie's predictions making the Olympics unpredictable.
