Despite running an early season world-leading time of 11.07 seconds in the 100m, Jamaica’s Elaine Thompson believes she still has a lot of work to do, if she is to turn the tables on Dafne Schippers in the 200m at this summer’s Rio Olympics in Brazil.

Thompson, 24, who announced herself on the global scene last year, culminating with a 200m silver medal at the Beijing World Championships in China in August, is expected to do well again this season.

The rising star of the Stephen Francis-led MVP track club ran a spectacular 21.66 seconds, which was the fifth fastest time in history, but had to settle for second behind Dutchwoman Schippers in a Championships record of 21.63 seconds. It was the quickest time in 17 years.

But Thompson would have gained a level of confidence after defeating Schippers in the semi-final of the 60m at the World Indoor Championships last month. It was a morale-boosting win for Thompson in a personal best of 7.04 seconds. Earlier she clocked 7.09 to win her heats.

“Competing with her, she pushes me a lot because we both don’t have any start from the blocks. We both have top end, so going with her you have to get out quickly. So it was a good experience,” Thompson told the Jamaica Observer.

However, Thompson would finish third in the final in 7.06 seconds behind Schippers in 7.04 and winner, American Barbara Pierre with 7.02 seconds.

Thompson’s 21.66 seconds is just a mere two-hundredths of a second outside of Jamaica’s national 200m record of 21.64 set by the great Merlene Ottey 25 years ago in 1991, a year before Thompson was born.

The Jamaican speedster was not allowed by her coach Francis to run the 100m at the World Championships because of her poor start, and she admitted that her foray into the more explosive 60m dash was his idea to improve her start.

“Well it was my coach’s decision, so I just work with him and I got a bronze medal and I got PB (personal best). That 60m helped me to do a better 100m from the start. It was a good experience,” said Thompson.

With a personal 100m best of 10.84 seconds, and the prospects of faster times with her improved starts, then it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Thompson delivers big time in Rio, although she is still not sure if she will contest the sprint double at the Olympics.

“I am not sure, everything is based on the coach. He is the instructor, he is the bigger man, anything he says, I will question it, but I will work with him and just do what he says,” she noted.

“My expectations are to run some good quality times like last year and also capture golds and set my name out there again so people can look up to me like a track idol or something like that,” said Thompson.

“My training is going good. I am healthy and I am injury free. So I am just putting in the work and go on the track and deliver as usual,” she added.

One of the persons who Thompson will have to get by for Olympic glory is none other than her training teammate Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce — arguably the greatest female sprinter of all time.

“Honestly, training with Shelly is amazing. She is my friend, my track idol and we push each other. Sometimes we have our ups and downs like in training, sometimes she manages and I don’t manage, but we are good training partners,” said Thompson.