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The Jamaican sprint legend pointed out that he has lost a lot of respect for Trinidanian former sprinter and politician Ato Boldon following 'demeaning' remarks he made about Elaine Thompson-Herah.
Jamaican sprint legend Asafa Powell has defended Elaine Thompson-Herah following remarks from retired Trinidadian sprinter Ato Boldon.
Boldon insisted that Thompson-Herah has achieved everything in the sport and might not be able to come back. He lauded her efforts of winning the 100m and 200m at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games and the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
However, injuries have been a nightmare to Thompson-Herah who could not defend her Olympic titles at the Paris Olympics, but she warned that she would bounce back to winning ways.
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“Elaine has done everything in the sport and she has achieved a lot. However, I think she is not coming back, with the injury and all that stuff,” Bolt said in a podcast with Letsrun.com.
He also made claims about Powell’s retirement from the sport, noting that the Jamaican sprint king would not make his 100th sub-10 performance in the 100m. He received a lot of criticism from fans but was vindicated when Powell never made his 100th sub-10 performance a reality.
Replying to his comments, Powell noted that he lost a lot of respect for Boldon. He pointed out that Thompson-Herah is fighting injuries and trying to come back to the sport and the last thing the four-time Olympic medallist would say is to demean her.
“I lost a lot of respect for him…he said, you know, because as an athlete that everyone looks up to, you know he made his career through competing. He also shared in the podcast that he knew I was not going to run the last three seconds but I’m okay with that’s in the past and I’m retired. I’m fine with that and I have no problem,” Powell said.
“But, for an athlete to be trying their best to come back to health and come back in the sport, and try and be the Olympic champion again and for him to say that the athlete is done, I’ll ask for a lot of respect for that athlete,” he added.
He added that Jamaicans are very biased and the fact that they did not stand up for Thompson-Herah as she the words were being said was demeaning.
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Powell revealed that when Noah Lyles spilled secrets said to him by his girlfriend Junelle Bromfield, Jamaicans went after her. However, when it came to Thompson-Herah, many of them remain tight-lipped.
“I think Jamaicans are very biased and hypocritical because when Noah Lyles said something the other day about a conversation with his wife, the Jamaicans jumped on her and said that she is a sell out but when Ato Boldon put down Elaine Thompson, nobody said anything,” Powell noted.
“I mean, I find that very hypocritical and I lost a lot of respect for the Jamaicans and Ato Boldon for saying that. To say that about someone who is battling injuries and trying to get back to top shape was not okay,” he added.
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