Who is Elaine Thompson-Herah's father? Sprint Queen's dad says running talent comes from him
Elaine Thompson-Herah, dubbed the Sprint Queen from Jamaica, swept the 100m race in Tokyo Olympics on July 31 in 10.61 seconds. Doing so, she set a new record at the games, breaking Florence Griffith-Joyner's 10.62 timing at the 1988 Olympics. Joyner held the record for the second-fastest time in history after Flo-Jo's world record mark of 10.49 seconds which was also set in 1988. The record now belongs to the Jamaican sprinter who is taking the Tokyo Games by storm and it remains to see if she will break or match Flo-Jo's record.
Everyone is rooting for Elaine regardless of her nationality. Her fandom also includes her parents - mother Rose Richard and dad Keith Thompson who are both very proud of her. Her father, like any other proud parent, spoke very highly of her achievements during a recent interview which was done after she swept the 100m medal. He runs a barbershop and joining in the celebrations are his clients who were all hooting and cheering when Elaine crossed the finish line at lightning speed to win gold. Here's all you need to know about her father.
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Who is Elaine Thompson-Herah's father?
Elaine Thompson-Herah's father Keith Thompson runs a barbershop in Mandeville county of Middlesex in Manchester, Jamaica. During the interview with an outlet that visited him after her 100m win, Keith declared he had a lot to do with her daughter's sprinting abilities. “Yeah, she get di running from me, man, cause mi always was a runner. Because mi fraida lick, mi always a run from lick,” he joked in Jamaican Patois. The English translation reads, "Yes she gets the running from me, man, because I have always been a runner. Because I'm afraid of getting beat. I've always run away from getting trashed."
Keith said he was an athlete in school and would sweep rewards at school events like his daughter is doing on an international scale. “Mi usually run in school. Di big bwoy dem couldn’t gi mi trouble, mi always run dem dung,” he stated meaning he could never get in trouble in school with big bullies because he would always outrun them. Keith said he knew his daughter had the ability to make it big in sprinting when she was 11. He would give her stuff to take to her mom Rose and Elaine would be back in a jiffy.
“And mi always a sey, how you reach back so quick and she would say a run she run,” he remembered. It didn't take long to realize that running was her daughter's dream and he began to pray for her so that she could realize her dreams soon. Elaine's grandmother Hycenth 'Gloria' Thompson too cheered for her as she sprinted towards the finish line. Gloria, a Seventh-day Adventist who Elaine has lived with since she was seven months old told the outlet that prayer has led her granddaughter to success. “God would shut the mouth of the lions in Tokyo and give Elaine the victory," she said.
Elaine is also close to her mother Rose and on mother's day she posted a sweet tribute for her on Instagram with a beautiful picture and caption. "Dear Mummy, I wouldn't have gotten this far without you. You're my rock! I love you dearly. Enjoy your Day! Happy Mother's Day❤️🥰" she wrote.
