Kishane Thompson | |
Nationality: | Jamaica |
Sport: | Athletics |
Event: | Sprint |
Birth Date: | 17 July 2001 |
Birth Place: | Mitchell Town, Jamaica |
Height: | 1.85 m[1] |
Weight: | 77 kg |
Pb: | 100 m: 9.77 s (2024) |
Kishane Thompson (born 17 July 2001) is a Jamaican track and field athlete who competes as a sprinter.[2] He won the silver medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in the 100 metres event.
A member of the MVP Track Club, Thompson competed at the Jamaican national trials in June 2023, and ran 9.91 seconds for the 100 metres in his qualifying heat.[3] However, he pulled-out of the competition prior to the semi-final. This was pre-planned, his coach Stephen Francis explained that due to a number of injuries in previous years he had a schedule to avoid multiple-round running that year.[4]
Thompson made his Diamond League debut competing in the 100 metres in Monaco on 21 July 2023, running 10.04 seconds to finish fifth.[5] In September 2023, he lowered his 100 metres personal best to 9.85 seconds to finish second at the Diamond League event in Xiamen, China.[6] [7]
On 27 June 2024, he ran 9.82 seconds for the 100 metres in the opening round at the Jamaican Olympic trials in Kingston, Jamaica.[8] In the subsequent final, he ran a new personal best of 9.77 seconds to win the Jamaican national title.[9]
On 4 August 2024, a controversial men's 100-meter final took place. Thompson and Noah Lyles finished with the exact same time of 9.79 seconds, but Lyles was ultimately awarded the gold medal by a margin of five-thousandths of a second after a photo finish. Thompson was awarded the silver medal.
The close finish led to a heated debate among sports enthusiasts and analysts. Many argued that the race was a "dead heat" and that the gold medal should have been shared between the two athletes since their times were identical. The confusion was further amplified when notable sports broadcasters, including NBC, initially reported that Thompson had won the race.[10] [11]