Elaine Thompson-Herah will now carry a Jamaican diplomatic passport

ELAINE Thompson-Herah, the three-time gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics in
Japan in August, is to be rewarded with a Jamaican diplomatic passport, Minister
Olivia Grange announced on Wednesday.
Grange, the Minister of Gender, Culture, Entertainment and Sport, was speaking
at a welcome-home ceremony for Thompson-Herah at the VIP room at Norman
Manley International Airport in Kingston.
Thompson-Herah, the 2016 Rio Olympic champion in the 100m and 200m,
became the first woman to defend both titles at the same Olympic Games when
she won the 100m in an Olympic record of 10.61 and then the 200m in a new
national record of 21.53.
She would go on to win a third gold medal as a member of Jamaica’s 4x100m
relay team that set a new national record of 41.02, the third-fastest time in
history.
Two weeks later, she would lower her 10.61 lifetime best to 10.54 in Eugene,
Oregon before reeling of time of 10.64, 10.72 and 10.65, the latter occurring at
the Diamond League final in Zurich on September 9 where she was crowned
Diamond League 100m champion. In doing so, she became the first woman to
run four wind-legal times under 10.70, eclipsing the previous record of three set
by the polarizing Florence Griffith-Joyner of the United States.
In recognition of her outstanding performances for Jamaica, Thompson-Herah is
to be conferred with the Order of Distinction during the National Heroes Day
Honour Awards set for October 18, and as Minister Grange revealed on
Wednesday, she will now carry a diplomatic passport.
“We will not be able to do the big splash we would want to but we will still have
an event that will say to Jamaica and the world and (the athletes) that we
appreciate them and that we love them,” Minister Grange said while revealing
plans to celebrate Jamaica’s successful Olympic team before her announcement
aimed specifically at Thompon-Herah.

“Elaine, it was our honour to bestow on you the Order of Distinction in the
Commander Class, it is our honour to ensure that you now carry a diplomatic
passport. Wherever you go in the world, you will be treated appropriately.”
In accepting, the double-triple Olympic champion said her success this season
has come about because of the hard work she put in and a commitment to
achieving her goals notwithstanding the challenges that came with managing her
long-running Achilles injury.
She said the faster she ran the more she believed that the world record of 10.49
is well within reach. (Sportsmax)