Thompson peaking at right time

- AAG’s Hutson

Six weeks leading up to the Rio Olympics, Athletic Association of Guyana (AAG) president, Aubrey Hutson believes that ace sprinter Brenessa Thompson is peaking at the right time.

Thompson, who continues to grab the headlines for all the positive reasons, underlined her sublime form Saturday at the Aliann Pompey Invitational meet by smashing the national 100m record after breaking the national 200m record twice last month.

Said Hutson: “What she has been doing has been phenomenal this season and we are hoping that by the time she gets to Rio, she will be on top of her game so that she can at least be on the podium.”

Guyana’s fastest female athlete, Brenessa Thompson (lane 5) on her way to breaking the national 100m record on Saturday at the Aliann Pompey Invitational
Guyana’s fastest female athlete, Brenessa Thompson (lane 5) on her way to breaking the national 100m record on Saturday at the Aliann Pompey Invitational

Thompson, who has qualified for the 100m and 200m sprints at the Olympics from August 5-21, has been on a road of steady development since her outdoor season began. At the AP Invitational held at the National Track and Field Centre, the US-based athlete clocked a legal 11.14s to erase the previous long standing record (11.26s) which was set by Jennifer Inniss.

Following the fastest win of her career, the 20-year-old stated that she is looking forward to running sub 11.

“At the beginning of the year, I hadn’t expected this at all because my indoor season wasn’t that good, but then when I came out for outdoor it was better. For now I’m just going to stay focused and train. I’m looking forward to lowering it again.”

Competing in front of the largest crowd to witness a track and field event at the Leonora facility was a further boost for the stylish Texas A&M student who wore a headband of daisies around her forehead like Jamaica’s Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce did last year at the World Championships.

“I feel really good competing in front of the home crowd, you know getting the love from everybody. The track was really good, and the conditions was better than expected. I look forward to competing here soon.” One can only hope her hot streak continues all the way to Brazil.