I wasn't even trying — Jamaican star Kishane Thompson after becoming 9th-fastest man ever - with bizarre instructions from his coach

Jamaica's latest sprint superstar Kishane Thompson believes he has tried his best yet.

I wasn't even trying — Jamaican star Kishane Thompson after becoming 9th-fastest man ever - with bizarre instructions from his coach

Izuchukwu Akawor • Izuchukwu Akawor • 11:17 - 30.06.2024

Kishane Thompson was the star of the show in the Jamaican Olympic Trails thanks to instructions from his coach.

Jamaican sprint superstar Kishane Thompson has revealed the astonishing reason behind his mind-blowing 9.77 second time at the country's Olympic trials - his coach only told him to run the first 60 metres!

The 22-year-old stunned the athletics world by becoming the ninth-fastest man in history with his scorching display, which saw him comfortably win the national trials.

Kishane Thompson on his Jamaican crown

But in a shocking admission, Thompson has now disclosed that his coach instructed him to simply run the first 60 metres and then 'shut it down' - meaning he wasn't even attempting to give his all over the full 100m distance.

“My coach instructed me just to run the first 60 metres, nothing more - after that, shut it down,” the young sensation said per Daily Mail after the race.

Jamaican sensation Kishane Thompson is now the man to beat.
Jamaican sensation Kishane Thompson is now the man to beat.

“If I came second or third, I would've made the team. The goal wasn't to prove anything tonight, just run the 70 or 60 metres and see where I was.”

Thompson's scorching 9.77s time is the fastest in the world in two years and puts him in the pantheon of all-time sprint greats - behind only the likes of Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Christian Coleman.

Kishane Thompson was too good for a lineup that included Oblique Seville
Kishane Thompson was too good for a lineup that included Oblique Seville

And the Jamaican star, who has had his fair share of injury troubles in the past, is finally fit and firing on all cylinders as he prepares to light up the track at the Paris Olympics next month.

The athletics world better brace itself - for the rise of Kishane Thompson is only just getting started and for Jamaica, they may have found the heir to Usain Bolt. 

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