Usain Bolt may have missed out on gold in London, but Jamaican supporters remained in high spirits with good reason. Elaine Thompson was looking to add the women’s 100-meter world championship gold medal to her Olympic gold collection. And most believed she would make it.
Tori Bowie crosses the finish line to win the Women's 100 Meters. /CFP Photo
Tori Bowie crosses the finish line to win the Women's 100 Meters. /CFP Photo
Going into the race, Olympic silver medalist Tori Bowie of the USA was expected to run Thompson close. While Cote d’Ivoire’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou ran the second fastest qualifier going into the final.
The race did not disappoint. Ta Lou was quick out of the blocks, but dramatically Bowie beat her out at the line with a last-gasp dip. Thompson faded to finish outside of the medals in fifth. Despite some initial confusion, Bowie had won her first World Championship gold medal.
"I didn’t exactly know if I had crossed that line before Ta Lou, but once I saw that result flash up on the board, I was like it actually happened. It was real. It was the perfect night." Bowie said.
For Ta Lou, a silver medal, a personal best of 10.86 seconds, but a disappointment too for her to just barely miss the gold.
"If I dip a little more I would have a gold medal, but I have to work again. That made me lose a medal in Rio, so I have to work on those things, and maybe I will have another medal." Ta Lou said.