Jamaica's sprint dominance comes to a sudden end in Paris

PARIS : Jamaica's dominance in the women's 100 and 200 metres came to an abrupt end in Paris with sprint queens Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson absent or injured.

Jamaica took 10 of the 12 women's 100 medals available in the four Olympics before Paris, including a clean sweep in Tokyo, and won four of the previous five 200s as they came out on top in their continuing duel with the United States.

Jamaica's "big three", who have 19 Olympic medals between them, filled the podium three years ago, but Thompson-Herah missed the Paris Games through injury and the campaigns of Fraser-Pryce and Jackson were cut short by injury and neither made the start line of either individual final or the relay.

The 100 final had only one Jamaican, Tia Clayton, in a race won by St Lucia's Julien Alfred, with Americans taking the silver and bronze, making it the first time since 1988 that no Jamaicans were on the podium.

Jamaica did not even manage a finalist in the 200 - the first time since 1976 that they did not medal.

Double sprint champion Thompson-Herah missed the Jamaican trials in June due to an Achilles injury, while Jackson initially dropped out of the 100 before the Games, and then later pulled out of the 200 days before she was due to run.

"My 2024 Olympic dream has been shattered," Jackson posted on Instagram on Friday. "I was hopeful that I would earn three more Olympic medals for Jamaica. However, injury has intervened."

Fraser-Pryce did compete in the 100 qualifiers but dropped out moments before the semi-finals, due to an injury in the warm-up after security officials delayed her getting into the stadium.

"It is difficult for me to find the words to describe the depth of my disappointment,"