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Special Report

From Evelyn Ashford to Julien Alfred, Olympic women’s 100-metre champions of the last four decades

Elaine Thompson-Herah is the only woman to win the “sprint double” in two Olympics



Sprint sensations (from left): Julien Alfred, Florence Griffith Joyner and Elaine Thompson-Herah have stamped their marks on Olympic 100 metres race history.
Image Credit: AFP, Dreamstime & Shutterstock

Long before Florence Griffith-Joyner injected a dash of glamour to women’s sprints, the 100-metre race was already a popular athletic event. Wilma Rudolph, Fanny Blankers-Koen, Marita Koch, Merlene Ottey, Gwen Torrence, and many others have cemented their places in Olympic sprint history. The race, which lasts less than 11 seconds, continues to captivate.

Here’s a look at the women who have dazzled on the Olympic track over the past 40 years.

1984 Los Angeles — Evelyn Ashford (USA)

Evelyn Ashford crosses the finish line in the women’s 100m final ahead of USA's Jeanette Bolden during the Los Angeles Games on August 10, 1984. The American finished her career with four Olympic gold medals.
Image Credit: AFP

Evelyn Ashford’s victory in the 100m race at the Los Angeles Games in 1984 marked the pinnacle of her collection of four Olympic gold medals. Born in Shreveport, Louisiana, in 1957, Ashford’s sprinting talent was spotted early and nurtured by coach Pat Conolly. She became a prominent sprinter in the 1970s and 1980s, competing against East Germans Marlies Gohr and Marita Koch. A 100m world record in 1983 was followed by Olympic golds in both the 100m and the 4x100m relay. Ashford was a key member of the relay teams that won in Barcelona and Seoul.

1988 Seoul — Florence Griffith-Joyner (USA)

Florence Griffith Joyner lit up the track with her colourful attire and painted long finger nails. The American’s world records in 100 and 200 metres, set in 1988, remain unerased.
Image Credit: Dreamstime
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Florence Griffith-Joyner brought a burst of colour to the traditionally staid world of athletics. With her painted nails and fluorescent leotards, FloJo (as she was affectionately known) added glamour to the track. Born in 1959, Joyner won a silver at the 1984 Olympics, Joyner before retiring from athletics three years later. After marrying Al Joyner, brother of long jumper Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and changing her training regimen, Joyner returned to the sport with renewed vigour. She set two world records (100m in 10.49 seconds and 200m in 21.34) and won three gold medals at the Seoul Olympics (100m, 200m, and 4x100m relay). Despite rumours of steroid abuse, Joyner passed all drug tests.

1992 Barcelona & 1996 Atlanta — Gail Devers (USA)

Gail Devers of the US races in the heats of the women’s 60m hurdles during the 10th IAAF World Indoor Athletics Championships in Budapest in 07 March 7, 2004. Devers won the 100m gold medals in 1992 and 1996.
Image Credit: AFP

Yolanda Gail Devers, one of the greatest women sprinters, dominated the 1990s with 100m gold medals in 1992 and 1996. Born in 1966 in Seattle, Washington, Devers faced a debilitating illness before the 1988 Olympics, diagnosed as Graves’ disease, a thyroid disorder. After enduring painful side effects and nearly losing her feet, Devers resumed training for sprints and hurdles in 1992 and won three Olympic gold medals, including a third in the 4x100m relay at the Atlanta Games.

2000 Sydney — Gold medal not awarded

Marion Jones of the United States won the 100m race at the Sydney Olympics. Five years later, Jones was stripped of her medals after admitting to using performance-enhancing drugs. The International Olympic Committee withheld the gold medal, marking the first time in modern Olympic history that an event did not have a gold medallist.

2004 Athens — Yulia Nestsiarenka (Belarus)

Yulia Nestsiarenka of Belarus broke the American stranglehold in sprints by winning the 100m race in Athens.
Image Credit: Olympic.com
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Belarusian sprinter Yulia Nestsiarenka broke the American dominance in the 100m by winning in Athens. She ran all her races, including the qualifications, semifinal, and final, in under 11 seconds. After a year-long break from the sport, Nestsiarenka returned but was no longer a dominant force.

2008 Beijing & 2012 London — Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica)

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce competes in the women’s 100m heat at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 2, 2024. The Jamaican withdrew in the semifinals due to injury.
Image Credit: AFP

Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, one of the world’s top sprinters, won the 100m Olympic gold medals in Beijing and London but settled for silver in Tokyo. In Paris, Fraser-Pryce withdrew from the semifinal due to injury. With eight Olympic medals, the Jamaican athlete has enjoyed a career spanning over a decade and a half.

2016 Rio de Janeiro & 2020 Tokyo — Elaine Thompson-Herah (Jamaica)

Elaine Thompson-Herah claimed the “sprint double” in Rio de Janeiro, and successfully defended it in Tokyo.
Image Credit: Shutterstock

Elaine Thompson-Herah became the first woman sprinter to win the "sprint double" (100m and 200m) at two consecutive Olympics — 2016 and 2020. Born in Manchester, Jamaica, in 1992, Thompson rose to prominence in 2015. At the Rio Olympics, she became the first woman since Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988 to achieve the sprint double, defending her titles in Tokyo and adding a 4x100m relay gold. Unfortunately, she was unable to compete in the Paris Olympics due to an Achilles tendon injury.

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2024 Paris — Julien Alfred (Saint Lucia)

Julien Alfred celebrates after winning the women’s 100m final at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, on August 3, 2024. Alfred is Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medallist.
Image Credit: AFP

Julien Alfred, a relatively unknown sprinter from the small Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, outshone a star-studded field that included Sha’Carri Richardson and Melissa Jefferson. With a national record time of 10.72 seconds, the 23-year-old won gold and became Saint Lucia’s first Olympic medallist. Alfred later claimed the 200m silver. Born in 2001 in Ciceron, Castries, Saint Lucia, she moved to Texas for her studies and began winning intercollegiate races before making her mark on the international stage. Having won the 60m gold at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Alfred was a favourite in Paris. She did not disappoint.

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