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SportOlympics

Athlete Elaine Thompson-Herah Wins Historic ‘Double-Double’

Elaine Thompson-Herah just became the first woman to win a “double-double” in Olympic track and field’s fastest races.

The Jamaican sprinter nabbed gold in both the 100-meter and 200-meter races in Tokyo, repeating her two wins in the same contests at the 2016 Rio Olympics.

Thompson-Herah’s time — 21.53 — was the second-fastest performance by a woman in the 200 meters in history.

Florence Griffith-Joyner’s 21.34-second mark set in the final of the 1988 Games in Seoul remains untouchable.

“It feels amazing to win two golds again. I have had a rough week. I haven’t slept after the 100m final,” the 29-year-old said after the race.

“I am so, so happy. Oh my God, it’s amazing that I have ever seen this day that I could complete another double. I can’t believe it,” she added.

Winning silver in the women’s 200-meter final was Christine Mboma of Namibia. It was the first-ever Olympic medal for a Namibian woman and the most recent medal for the country since 1996.

Her time of 21.81 seconds set a new world Under-20 record.

Gabrielle Thomas of the United States took bronze in the race after being edged by Mboma in the closing meters.

Three days before Thompson-Herah won the 100-meter race. Her time of 10.61 seconds broke Griffith Joyner’s 33-year-old record set in Seoul. Her fellow Jamaicans Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson won the silver and the bronze.

What makes Thompson-Herah’s achievement even more unbelievable is that a month-and-a-half ago she thought she wouldn’t be able to compete at the Tokyo Olympics as she struggled to overcome a nagging Achilles injury.

Luckily for her, she recovered just in time and allowed us to witness history in Tokyo.