FOR the last four instalments of the Olympic Games the women’s 100m competition has seen a Jamaican standing at the top of the medal podium — a 12-year dominance that has only been matched once in Olympic history.

Back-to-back victories for the iconic Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce at the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Games, as well as consecutive wins for Elaine Thompson Herah at the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 events, saw Jamaica match the American win streak between 1984 and 1996 when Evelyn Ashford (1984), Florence Griffith Joyner (1988) and Gail Devers (1992 and 1996) topped the field at successive Games.

In fact, only the USA’s 18 medals (9 gold, 7 silver, 2 bronze) better Jamaica’s 16 (4 gold, 6 silver, 6 bronze) in this event, but the Jamaicans have dominated the last four Games, winning 10 of the 12 medals handed out.

Missing major pieces in the Jamaican sprinting arsenal following the withdrawal of powerhouse Shericka Jackson and the absence of Thompson-Herah, the island’s charge towards Olympic history will be led by a familiar face, a powerful promise, and a loyal journeywoman, eager to make the most of an unlikely opportunity.

Fraser-Pryce, the most bemedalled woman in the event at the Olympic Games — after having two golds, a silver and a bronze medal placed around her neck on this stage — leads the efforts, and was quite businesslike in her first-round assignment, striding comfortably to a 10.92 seconds finish behind another veteran, Ivory Coast’s Marie-Joseé Ta Lou-Smith (10.87).

The fact that her time was just one hundredth of a second slower than her season’s best, and the manner in which it was registered, will provide hope to Jamaican fans, well aware of the less-than-convincing season that the star sprinter has endured, with yesterday’s run being just her fifth in an injury-plagued campaign.

Shashalee Forbes (11.19sec) completes her heat on Friday in the Stade de France at the 2024 Summer Olympic Games.

Still, the persistent 37-year-old, who has always medalled at the Olympic Games, has been here before — working her way to the podium after arriving off her best.

While her ambitions will be much greater than third place, no one will comfortably bet against her pulling a repeat of her Rio 2016 medal finish, where she somehow won bronze, while basically running on nine toes, an achievement that she has consistently listed among her most memorable.

She faces a tough semi-final today at 12:59 pm with gold medal favourite, American Sha’Carri Richardson, who eased to 10.94 in the heats, and St Lucia’s Julien Alfred (10.95), both to her right.

For Jamaican fans, Tia Clayton, who yesterday made her debut at a major senior championships with a reasonably comfortable second-place finish in her heat, clocking 11.00 seconds with much more to give, brings with her an uncanny feeling of “wait, have we seen this before?”

Pint-sized, powerful, and full of promise, Clayton’s rise — though in its very first strides — strikes a strong resemblance to the Beijing 2008 introduction of Fraser-Pryce, who arrived at those Games as an unknown and left as the unmatched.

Clayton, who like Fraser-Pryce, also finished second at the National Championships heading into her first Games, announced her matriculation from a high school star to the senior ranks with a 10.86 seconds run at Trials. She will have Great Britain’s Daryll Neita and USA’s Twanisha Terry for company in her semi-final, when they face the starter at 1:08 pm.

The young Jamaican is reportedly in excellent shape with those close to her expressing extreme confidence in her ability to surprise the world in Paris in much the same way that her teammate Fraser-Pryce did in 2008.

According to Clayton’s coach Stephen Francis, the 19-year-old is much faster than her 10.86 personal best and, if she executes as she can, she will have a lot to say in the final, which is set for 2:20 pm.

Interestingly, the last time a non-Jamaican won the women’s 100m at the Olympic Games, Belarus’s Yulia Nestsiarenka in 2004, Clayton was just four days old.

Jamaica’s third athlete in the women’s 100m semi-finals, Shashalee Forbes, who was originally a member of the 4x100m relay pool, was elevated to the individual event after injury forced out Jackson, and she has so far made the most of her opportunity, booking her lane in the next round after posting 11.19 seconds for second place in her heat.

Forbes has endured a challenging season after an early scare, but has so far bounced back to register a 11.03 season’s best. She will need to find something faster if she is to secure a spot in the final.

Tia Clayton (11.00sec) looks to the stands at the end of her 100m run in the heats at the ongoing Olympic Games in Paris, France. (Photos: Naphtali Junior)