Many track stars have emerged throughout the 2024 season, and they have generated a lot of action. This has also gotten the community excited about the Paris Olympics, where anyone may win the coveted gold medal.
While Noah Lyles was long seen as the fan favorite to win gold medals in the 100 and 200 meters, Kishane Thompson dethroned him at the Jamaican Olympic Trials, clocking a remarkable 9.77 in the 100.
This performance was widely acknowledged, and even elite athletes were taken aback by the track prodigy’s display of brilliance. However, Kishane, like any other athlete, has risen to the top of the sport through his hard work and dedication to his goals.
Kishane Thompson’s Early Life
Kishane Thompson grew up in Mitchell Town, a tiny fishing hamlet. However, the locals just faced a powerful hurricane, Beryl, which wrecked and rendered their lives uncertain. Even though life has been difficult for them, they are looking forward to the star athlete who emerged among them at the Paris Olympics.
The Jamaican talent has been a quiet character since childhood, but he is also recognized for his playful disposition and exceptional intelligence. Many coaches have accompanied him on his trip, including Dennis May, Oliver Heywood, and the late Jamaican middle-distance runner, Neville Myton.
Back in 2018, Myton made a bold prediction that Kishane has the potential to be one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen, and just as his prediction for retired Jamaican athlete Veronica Campbell-Brown proved correct, this prediction is also on track.
However, his high school years were not as idyllic as he had hoped, since shin splints, hamstring injuries, and the outbreak of COVID were important factors for which he was unable to perform to his full potential at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Athletics Championships.
Even though he had received a scholarship to attend Iowa Western Community College, Kishane declined because he did not want to be separated from his fraternal twin brother, Kishaun.
Neville Myton’s prediction came true just a year later, in 2019 when the Jamaican prodigy was taken under his wing by Paul Francis, the brother of MVP Track and Field Club founder Stephen Francis. The coach also set up a scholarship for Kishane at the University of Technology, where he is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in sports management.
Rising to the Top With His Natural Talent
After numerous practice sessions, Kishane Thompson’s coach noticed a certain specialty in the athlete. While many sprinters excel at either starting quickly or finishing quickly, the Jamaican possessed both.
This inherent talent, paired with his height, explosive power, fierceness, and strong mental state in every track meet, offers him the potential to be successful in whatever stint he undertakes. Kishane demonstrated it when he arrived at the Jamaican Olympic Trials.
Few people in the community had heard of the athlete, but rather than bragging about his abilities, he let his running speak for him. Kishane ran 9.82 in the 100-meter heats and 9.84 in the semi-finals. The timings were undeniably impressive, but his final race, which he won with a 9.77, beating Oblique Seville despite slowing down in the final 40 meters, stunned everyone.
Many track luminaries were caught off guard by his run, especially when it was later revealed that his coach instructed him to slow down in the last meters of the race, proving that the track prodigy has much more speed inside him, which he will eventually unleash at the Paris Olympics.
