Kishane Thompson on handling media hype that comes with being the 100m world leader

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Kishane Thompson on handling media hype that comes with being the 100m world leader

Abigael Wafula 20:30 - 19.07.2024

Kishane Thompson has explained how he plans to deal with the media hype that he is receiving after clocking the world's fastest time this year.

Kishane Thompson is not letting the limelight get into his way as he chases Olympic glory in the French capital next month.

The Jamaican sprint king is the fastest man in the world in 2024, thanks to his thrilling time at the Jamaican Championships. Thompson clocked a stunning 9.77 to win the men’s 100m final ahead of Oblique Seville and Ackeem Blake, who will join him in Paris as they chase Olympic glory.

With his fast times at the Jamaican Olympic trials, the event being his season opener, he has gained traction from different media outlets but Thompson is not losing his focus.

In an interview shared by Rori Dunk on X, the 23-year-old has maintained his focus on the track and he noted that media attention will just be a plus to his achievements and not the main focus this season.

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“My main focus is just on the track at this very moment. Those (media attention) are like, I want to say side quests or side accomplishment, you know. It will just come with the territory,” Thompson said.

“My main focus and my main quest is to train and stay healthy and do what I have to do on the track,” the sprint star added.

Injuries have slowed him down in the past seasons but Thompson is taking a different approach this season to ensure he makes it to the Olympics healthy.

Thompson missed last year’s World Championships in Budapest, Hungary due to an injury but bounced back at the Prefontaine Classic, the Diamond League Meeting final to finish fourth in the men’s 100m race.

His coach, Stephen Francis also noted that the management is taking a different approach in ensuring Thompson is fit for the huge task that awaits him.

“Everybody we have had at MVP has managed to last a long time because we just don’t hope to avoid injuries, we take steps to ensure that if he gets injured we can correct the situation and we run our training in such a manner that the athlete is the boss,” Francis told Nationwide90 FM in part.