PARIS, France — It may not have been the medal he was aiming for in the final of the Men’s 100m at the Olympic Games on Sunday, but Jamaican rising sprint star Kishane Thompson says he is grateful for winning the silver medal. Thompson’s medal was the first for a Jamaican man in the sprint events at a major global championship since the legendary Usain Bolt won bronze at the World Championships in 2017.

It was the third medal won by Jamaica at the Paris Olympics after triple jumper Shanieka Ricketts won silver and shot putter Rajindra Campbell got a bronze on Saturday.

The 23-year-old Thompson, who is the fastest man in the world this year with his time of 9.77 seconds, was the red-hot favourite to win the gold medal. However, after leading for almost the entire race, the gold medal was snatched away from him by the fast-finishing American and world sprint double champion Noah Lyles, who won the event in a photo-finish with a time of 9.79, in front of a packed house inside Stade de France. The same time was given to Thompson.

Lyles’ teammate Fred Kerley was third with a season’s best of 9.81. Jamaica’s other competitor in the final, Oblique Seville, was eighth in 9.91.

“I am super grateful because I came out here and finished injury-free; I think you guys know my past with injuries,” said Thompson. “I am a bit disappointed but I am super grateful and happy at the same time, and I am just going to take it for what it is and just move forward from here,” he said.

Thompson highlighted that he was not pleased with his execution of the race. He noted he had not been patient enough throughout the contest, which led to him losing the gold medal.

“I wasn’t patient enough with my speed and myself to let my speed bring me to the line in the position that I know I could have gone to, but I will learn from it,” he said. “I should have been more relaxed and patient with myself.”

He said that while he tried his best to win the gold medal for the country, it was just not his day.

“I am feeling super grateful, and maybe my body language doesn’t show it because I am not an expressive guy, but I am glad. I know that Jamaica would have wanted me to get the gold, and everybody loves winners, and I would have loved to win, but big up to the whole field [of] competitors,” Thompson stated.

National champion Natoya Goule failed to secure a spot in the final of the women’s 800m competition after finishing sixth in 1:59.14. The race was won by World Champion Mary Moraa of Kenya in 1:57.86, ahead of Ethiopia’s Worknesh Mesele in 1:58.06, and Cuba’s Daily Cooper Gaspar in 1:58.39.

Jamaica’s Kishane Thompson (centre) and the United States pair of Kenny Bednarek (left) and Noah Lyles anxiously look at the television screen after the Men’s 100m Final during the Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday. (Photos: Naphtali Junior)

From left: Noah Lyles of the United States, Oblique Seville of Jamaica, Akani Simbine of South Africa and Kishane Thompson of Jamaica contest the Men’s 100m Final during the Olympic Games at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday. (Photo: Naphtali Junior)