Jamaican Sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah Wins Historic 'Double-Double' In Track

By Joe Hernandez / NPR

Published August 3, 2021 at 4:25 AM PDT

This story was published more than 3 years ago.

Elaine Thompson-Herah of Team Jamaica celebrates after winning the gold medal in the Women's 200m Final on day eleven of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium on August 03, 2021 in Tokyo.

Updated August 3, 2021 at 1:04 PM ET

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.

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Thompson-Herah, 29, clinched the title after trouncing the competition during the 200-meter sprint on Tuesday.

"It feels amazing to win two golds again. I have had a rough week. I haven't slept after the 100m final," Thompson-Herah 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, according to Olympics organizers.

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

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Thompson-Herah's time — 21.53 — was the second-fastest performance by a woman in the 200 meters in Olympic history. Her time in the 100-meter sprint in Tokyo set an Olympic record in that event.