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Jamaican sprint legend Elaine Thompson-Herah has reportedly linked up with American coach Rana Reider of Tumbleweed Track Club but who is the man she is banking on to revive her career?
Jamaican sprint queen Elaine Thompson-Herah has reportedly decided to move stateside to work with veteran coach Rana Reider as she bids to revive her career.
Thompson-Herah had a nightmare 2024 season that saw her fail to defend her Olympics 100m and 200m crowns following an Achilles injury in June.
She reacted to her disappointing season by parting ways with coach Reynaldo Walcott, whom she had just linked up with at the end of last year, in preparations for the Olympics.
Now, it is reported that she has linked up with Reider of Tumbleweed Track Club in Jacksonville, Florida where she has resumed training after getting a clean bill of health from renowned sports doctor Greg Haughton.
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12:00 - 15.11.2024
Elaine Thompson-Herah heeds Stephen Francis' advice as she reportedly finds new training base in USA for 2025 comeback
Elaine Thompson-Herah looks like she has heeded to former coach Stephen Francis' advice with regards to a new training base if she is to get back to the heights of challenging for global medals.
Reider will be the fourth coach Thompson-Herah will be working with in just under four years but who is the American coach that the Jamaican legend has trusted to turn around her career?
Rise to prominence
The 54-year-old is a highly experienced coach who has worked with some of the world’s top sprinters in America and Europe since he started coaching at small American colleges.
Reider would later work as a coach at big US institutions such as the University of Florida, Kansas State University and Clemson University.
It was in 2011 when he rose to prominence when he was named USA Track & Field Coach of the Year for coaching three athletes to medals at that year’s World Championships in Daegu, South Korea.
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06:02 - 04.10.2024
Elaine Thompson-Herah: Will third coaching change in three years revive her stuttering career?
Jamaican sprint legend Elaine Thompson-Herah is looking for a new coach for the third time in three years but there are doubts whether the change will return her to her glory days.
Jobs abroad
After that impressive season, Reider attracted interest from abroad with Austria hiring him as they prepared for the London 2012 Olympics and the following year, he joined UK Athletics to work as their sprints and relay lead, a job he held until October 2014, when he left following what was described as an “international investigation into his conduct.”
He had worked with sprinters like Adam Gemili, Martyn Rooney, Shara Proctor and Tiffany Porter.
Shortly after his stint in the UK, he was appointed as a coach in the Netherlands where he trained sprinters like Dafne Schippers, the former world 200m champion.
Worked with Olympics champions
Reider has worked with some of the world’s finest sprinters, who include Canadian Andre De Grasse, the Tokyo Olympics 200m champion, as well as former 100m Olympics gold medalist Marcell Jacobs of Italy.
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16:47 - 04.10.2024
Stephen Francis on why Elaine Thompson-Herah should consider moving to US amidst rumors of potential return to MVP track club
Stephen Francis has previously explained why Elaine Thompson Herah needs to consider moving to the United States if she is to stand any chance of overcoming her injury problems to return to the top.
American sprinters Christian Taylor, Dwight Phillips, Bryan Clay, Tianna Bartoletta, Marvin Bracy and Trayvon Bromell have also been under his stable.
Working with such a calibre of runners is perhaps one of the reasons Thompson-Herah has teamed up with him although the sprinter’s former coach Stephen Francis recently explained why her next tactician should be one that knows how to keep her healthy.
Rape allegations
However, the married father of two has also courted controversy in recent years following allegations of sexual misconduct.
He was ejected from the Paris 2024 Olympics in August over fresh rape claims involving a teenager in the US and his accreditation as De Grasse’s coach revoked by the Canadian Olympics Committee.
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07:40 - 15.11.2024
‘Hard work pays off’ - Gabby Thomas over the moon as she bags top US award alongside Grant Holloway
Triple Olympics champion Gabby Thomas has expressed her delight after being named USATF Athletes of the Year alongside 110m hurdles king Grant Holloway.
Reider was accused of raping an athlete when she was a teenager in the United States while there were other claims of sexual and emotional abuse.
The young woman claimed she had been raped by Reider during a training camp in Florida, shortly after turning 18, with the coach claimed to have asked her “to watch a movie with him on the bed.”
This came after Reider faced investigations over sexual misconduct by the US Center for SafeSport in November 2021 and in May 2023, after the probe had been completed, he was given a one-year probation. Reider admitted that the affair was real but claimed it was consensual.
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