'No congratulations, nothing' - Noah Lyles girlfriend Junelle Bromfield slams Jamaicans' poor Olympic final reception to Kishane Thompson

'No congratulations, nothing' - Noah Lyles girlfriend Junelle Bromfield slams Jamaicans' poor Olympic final reception to Kishane Thompson

Funmilayo Fameso 21:20 - 30.09.2024

Junelle Bromfield has a message for Jamaicans' poor reception to Kishane Thompson's Olympic silver medal, instead chose to direct their frustrations on Noah Lyles.

When Noah Lyles powered to the Olympic 100m gold medal in Paris, Junelle Bromfield faced an unhealthy amount of online backlash from Jamaicans for supporting her boyfriend over her countryman Kishane Thompson.

The men's 100m final was one of the most anticipated at the Paris Olympic Games, and Lyles defeated Thompson in a new personal best of 9.79s, edging the Jamaican champion by just five-thousandths of a second, with both clocking the same time.

Noah Lyles defeated Kishane Thompson to win Paris Olympics 100m gold

Following his victory, the American speedster ran straight to celebrate with Bromfield at the stands, who obviously was rooting for her boyfriend ahead of her countryman and would later pen an Instagram post to this effect.

Her public affection for Lyles didn't please most Jamaicans who felt she chose love over country, with some even calling her a 'traitor'. This outrage quickly spiraled into cyberbullying, with Bromfield facing intense criticism and online harassment from her own community.

Noah Lyles and Junelle Bromfield in Paris 2024.
Noah Lyles went straight to celebrate with his girlfriend Junelle Bromfield after winning the Olympic title

The depth of Bromfield's distress became clear when she was approached for an interview by Jamaican journalist Simone Clarke. Initially, she agreed to an interview but only on the condition that it not take place in Jamaica, citing how much the criticism had impacted her.

With the need for an intense discussion, Clarke flew down to the US to have the talented 400m runner on her Sim Soul Sessions podcast, where Bromfield opened up on how Jamaicans focused on the wrong things trolling Lyles instead of celebrating their first sprinter to have medalled in a men's Olympic 100m final event since Usain Bolt.

"A Jamaican man has gotten a medal at the Olympic, world championship since Bolt," said Bromfield. "Oblique is the first man to make the finals, I believe in 2022 onwards and if he's not healthy and he doesn't get a medal problem, she added. "Kishane came along and I watched a small clip, Kishane got a silver medal at the biggest biggest stage in any athlete's career, the Olympics, and I saw that video and nobody was cheering.

Kishane Thompson won 100m silver medal, Jamaica's only in the sprint at Paris 2024 Olympics

"Everybody was at shock and they were on the internet and Noah is my boyfriend. But all I saw was Noah shouldn't get that medal, Noah shouldn't have got that medal and I wasn't seeing no congratulations, they were just fighting the results and showing blames instead of appreciating the first medal they've gotten since Bolt."

Bromfield also revealed how Lyles helped her get through the hate and negativities she received by sending a video clip during the period.

"I'm just here to probably vocalize some of the ways that I feel that you've shown your resilience and shown your strength and it's hard at times I know, but you know, you're a game changer you might not want to be, that's what you are," Lyles said in the video.

Junelle Bromfield and Noah Lyles are training partners and one of the top power couples in athletics

"Now everything that God has put in your life, has been one step forward to moving, to inspiring the next generation, and I know it's uncomfortable, but he prepared you for this moment, and I've seen the way that you fought through."

Tags: